Myths of a Hero
by SkylarNelson
Summary: I know... There's tons of these... But I had a great idea! Join the Olympians and demigods as they journey through the life of the Hero of Olympus! Rated T cause I'm paranoid. Percabeth. I won't show any other parings because I won't change the story.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! So I'm well aware of how many there are of these... But I had a great idea! I plan on finishing up my other two stories to do this one, then move back to whichever one is most popular!**

**To vote on which one I will continue when this is over, check out _Graecus Hollywood Arts_ and _I'm in Love with My Best Friend_!**

**P.S. I do not own PJO. All rights go to the _genius_ Rick Riordan!  
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Myths of a Hero:

Prologue:

The Myths

**Annabeth**

She ran her fingers across the cold metal railing of the Argo II. It had been six months since her heart had been free of this misery. And the one person on earth who had the ability to calm her pain, had disappeared.

Now, at last, in just a few minutes her stormy gray eyes would finally be able to see the color that she missed so much. Green. Sea green eyes that were as deep and filled with emotion as the sea itself. Sea green eyes that could be as calming as a stream, or as powerful as a tempest. Sea green eyes that were always gleaming with a troublemaking mischief.

Sea green eyes that were Percy's.

Annabeth sighed, terrified. A thousand questions raced through her mind like a wildfire. Would he remember her? Would he still like her? Did he have another girlfriend? Never in her life had she gone _so_ insane because of _one_ boy. She had been bottling up her pain, and all she wanted was for it to stop.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded her. Annabeth shut her eyes tight, her mind rapidly trying to process what was going on. The feel of the wind changed. The railing vanished. When the light died, there were several surprised and angry calls.

Annabeth opened her eyes to find that she was in the Olympus throne room. But it was the _old_ Olympus. The one from before the Second Titan War. The Ophiotaurus was gone, too. Judging from the fact that Hades was there, along with Hestia and the twelve Olympians, she guessed that it was the Winter Solstice, at a point in time before she had been kidnapped and forced to hold the sky. But why was she here? Was this a dream? If so, when did she fall asleep? And why were the gods glaring at her? Wouldn't it have been one of _them_ that summoned her?

With a jolt, Annabeth realized that they weren't _just_ glaring at her… She turned around to see—all of them blinking in bewilderment—Rachel, Grover, and several demigods shifting uncomfortably under the gods' stares. Only Thalia held her head high. "Father," the huntress called, "why have you summoned us?"

Zeus blinked, too surprised to remember to be angry. "I'm not your father, and we didn't summon you. Who are you?"

It was Thalia's turn to be confused. "Dad, I'm your daughter," she insisted, "Thalia Grace."

Zeus' eyes grew to the size of drachmas. "B-but Thalia," he stammered. "You're ten…"

Thalia and Zeus stared at each other, confused, and a little frustrated. Annabeth instantly solved the puzzle, and figured that she had better step in before either of the lightning users broke something.

"My Lord," Annabeth stepped forward, and all eyes turned to her. "If my theory is right, we are demigods from almost twelve years into the future. The room looks more like it did the _first _time I came here than the most recent."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

Athena shook her head. "That can't be right. Thalia is ten here and you are five. How is it that you appear older than her?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Hunters of Artemis. It's a long and grueling story that I'd rather not get into."

"Uh, guys?" Annabeth turned to see Rachel staring suspiciously at a piece of paper that _definitely _wasn't there before. The Oracle picked up the paper, and read:

_Dear gods and demigods,_

_We are sorry for the inconvenience, but in order to help the Hero of Olympus with his important part in the newest Great Prophecy, he needs your help. We have convinced the muses and an Olympus scribe, Rick Riordan, to write the Hero's myths earlier than usual. If any of you try to change even the tiniest action, it will mean the downfall of Olympus. When you have finished all five myths, the demigods may return to their time. During meals, we will send special extra items that will help you understand the hero. Every now and then, we will send in more visitors. You cannot leave. You cannot skip. You cannot stop._

_We are watching you…_

_-The Fates, Phoebus Apollo, and Hermes_

"We rock!" Apollo and Hermes jumped up and gave each other high fives.

"If we must, we will read. We cannot go against what the Fates decree," Zeus sighed, and thunder rolled in the distance. "Very well. Please introduce yourselves."

Rachel stepped forward, still holding the letter. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Oracle of Delphi."

Apollo pumped his fist. "Sweet! My oracle's not a mummy anymore!" Rachel nodded, smiling uncomfortably, and stepped back.

"Grover Underwood, satyr."

"Will Solace, son of Apollo."

"Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter."

"Travis and Conner Stoll, sons of Hermes."

"Chris Rodriguez, also a son of Hermes" **(A.N. I think…)**

"Clarisse de la Rue, daughter of Ares."

"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus."

"Piper McClean, daughter of Aphrodite."

The last four demigods looked a little uncomfortable. Finally, one of them spoke up. "I have been in the Lotus Casino and Hotel since the 1940s. I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

The gods glanced at Hades, but said nothing. A young girl with cinnamon-toast colored hair and gold eyes stepped forward. "In the future, the Greek and Roman camps will learn about each other. I am Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. I'm from 1942." A ripple of surprise rose up around the room, and Hazel stepped back, her eyes flitting every now and then in Leo's direction.

Next, a bulky Chinese boy stepped forward. "I'm Frank Zhang, son of Mars." Annabeth almost didn't believe him at first—he looked nothing like a son of the War God—but his expression was deadly serious.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

"OW!" The cry came from Nico, who was rubbing his head, glaring at a sea blue spiral notebook that had just fallen from the sky. He picked it up and flipped it open to see the first page. Instantly, his face blanched. "It-it's Rachel's sketch..." he stammered." It-it says... Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book one: The Lightning Thief."

Annabeth hurried over to glance over Nico's shoulder. Instantly, she gasped in shock.

It was Percy. Twelve-year old Percy. His back was turned, but she would recognize that mop of black hair anywhere. He had his minotaur's horn in his left hand, and Riptide in his right. He stood in the ocean, his hair billowing in the wind, watching lightning flash across the Empire State Building. Annabeth felt her heart ache for him to turn around so she could see his deep green eyes.

"Do you mind if I read first?" Hazel called from Annabeth's left, interrupting her silent pain. "Frank and I just finished a quest with Percy, and he said some things I don't understand." Nico nodded and handed her the book. Annabeth's heart leapt to hear that Percy was alive, and she followed the others silently to the hearth.

As the demigods settled on the floor, the gods shrank to human size and sat down in thirteen average-sized thrones that had appeared with a snap of Zeus' immortal fingers. In the end, gods, demigods, a satyr, and a mortal all sat in a circle around the hearth.

Hazel opened the book to the first worded page and muttered in a prayer of thanks that the book was in Latin. Then she read in a clear, strong voice, "Chapter one: **I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**"

**Well? Good? Bad? Do I quit while I'm ahead? Please comment!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95  
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	2. Vaporizing PreAlgebra Teachers

**I do not own PJO. All credit goes to the _genius_ Rick Riordan.  
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Chapter One:

Vaporizing Pre-Algebra Teachers

"Chapter one: **I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the entire room burst into laughter.

"Oh, man!" Leo choked out. "I_ love_ this guy, _already_!"

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"Who does?" Nico asked bitterly. Several demigods nodded in agreement.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"Percy? Giving _good_ advice? The horror!" Travis clutched onto his brother for emphasis, and chuckles and eye rolls rose up around the group.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous.**

"Check," Conner muttered.

**It's scary.**

"Check," Travis echoed."

**Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"Double check," the brothers called mournfully.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

Poseidon blanched, worried about what happened to his son.

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you. **

**Don't say I didn't warn you. **

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

Annabeth gave a small, muffled squeak at the sound of his name, and Aphrodite glanced at her suspiciously.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"YES," yelled everyone who knew Percy well before he disappeared, and the others wondered how one boy could cause so many problems.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

"He even agrees with us!" Thalia laughed, and Poseidon became paler.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"Sounds like fun," Athena and Annabeth commented.

**I know-it sounds like torture.**

Annabeth huffed at the laughter from the demigods who found the couple's opposite thoughts entertaining.

**Most Yancy field trips were. **

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes. **

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"Sounds like Chiron," Jason mused. Grover grinned.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

Several demigods snorted.

"Trouble follows Percy around like a _curse_!" Thalia scoffed. "I can't believe he's still alive!"

"Oh, wait!" She turned to stare pointedly at Annabeth. "_Now_ I can!"

Annabeth flushed, and the others laughed.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

"Oh, gee," Nico said sarcastically. "_You think_?"

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

The group burst out laughing, and Hermes turned to Annabeth. "_Please _tell me I like this kid!"

Annabeth thought for a moment. "You two are on good terms."

Hermes nodded, satisfied, and motioned for Hazel to continue.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind- the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.**

Travis turned to his brother, "Why didn't _we_ think of that?" Conner shrugged.

**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip, I was determined to be good. **

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose at the sandwich, and Hazel and Frank turned to Grover, confused. "Percy's friends with a _fawn_?"

Jason answered for the thoroughly confused satyr. "Fawns hold higher esteem to the Greeks." Frank nodded, and Hazel returned to the book.

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled.**

"Thanks, Perce," Grover muttered.

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

Thalia laughed. "Way to blow your cover, Goat Boy!"

Grover flushed. "Don't call me Goat Boy!"

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Mildly entertaining?" Thalia tilted her head to the side.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Do it! Do it!" Ares called.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter. "**

"Well, yeah," Leo squinted at the satyr in confusion. "Me, too. But to _eat_! Not to _wear_!" Grover's face turned beet red.

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch. **

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"Grover!" Several demigods glared at the Lord of the Wild, who blushed and muttered an apology.

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

Poseidon paled, and Annabeth nodded reassuringly at him. He relaxed slightly, staring at her quizzically. _Why would a daughter of Athena try to reassure _me_? _He thought.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. **

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer," called a few gods.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of inter-esting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye. **

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown. **

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

_Why is Alecto there?_ Nico and Hades wondered silently.

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"Monster?" Athena asked.

"Yup," Grover had turned a sickly shade of green, spreading confusion throughout the room.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art. **

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Oops," Nico cackled. Several laughed.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story. **

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

The eldest gods shivered. "It had to be _that one_, didn't it…" Poseidon muttered.

**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and-"**

"GOD?" Thunder rolled in the distance as the gods glared at the book.

Annabeth held out her hands in a calming gesture. "He didn't know that you existed back then… he _couldn't_ have known how important it was to get the answer right. He knows _now_!" The gods settled back down, but they still looked testy. Annabeth bit her lip.

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked. **

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And ... He didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me. **

**"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans, " I continued, "and the gods won."**

"A battle that lasts thousands of years, and he sums it up in, 'there was this big fight and the gods won'?" Athena stared at the book, incredulous.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why are they snickering? He got it right." Hephaestus sighed. "I'll never understand mortals…"

"Hey!" Rachel glared at him indignantly. The god smiled sheepishly.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"I could give you plenty reasons why it's important," Annabeth muttered through gritted teeth, staring daggers at the book.

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

**"Busted," Grover muttered. **

The demigods snickered.

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair. **

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears. **

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

"He needs to learn how to change subjects," Hermes commented.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"Boys…" Artemis and Thalia muttered.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go—intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"He's quite observant," Athena nodded approvingly, and the older Greeks stared.

"She doesn't know his parentage, remember?" Annabeth hissed so only the demigods could hear her. "She has no reason to hate him yet." They turned back to Hazel and the book.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me. **

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson. "**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

Annabeth sighed. "He has to, Seaweed Brain."

Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo, and the gods blinked in confusion. "Seaweed Brain is Annabeth's nickname for him," Thalia explained.

Aphrodite studied Annabeth, wondering how much influence her power had over this girl's and Percy's lives.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No-he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be **_**better**_**. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"The names and facts are easy," Annabeth muttered. "It's the 'spelling correctly' part that I hate."

Travis gasped mockingly. "_Annabeth Chase_ hates something to do with _school_? It's the Apocalypse!" He hugged his brother and fake sobbed, crying, "We're all gonna die!"

Annabeth scowled at him. "Apocalypse is a religious end of the world superstition. I'm pretty sure you're not Christian, Travis."

Travis blinked, then sat up. "Touché. But 'It's the end of the world' doesn't really have the same ring to it…"

"Try 'Armageddon.'"

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably was," called Athena.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch. **

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. **

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

Zeus and Poseidon blinked at each other. "We're fighting?" Zeus asked.

"What else is new, Dad." Thalia muttered.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse,**

All eyes turned to Hermes, who held up his hands in a gesture of innocence.

"Not every thief is mine," he called.

**and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing. **

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

Conner turned to Grover. "Did it work?"

"No…"

**"Detention?" Grover asked. **

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean-I'm not a genius. "**

Thalia chuckled. "You can say _that_ again…"

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Laughter spread throughout the room, and Grover's ears turned pink. "Sorry, Perce," he muttered.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

"Mama's Boy," Ares muttered.

Surprisingly, it was Clarisse who disagreed. "I've met Mrs. Jackson. As much as I hate to say it… I don't blame Percy for thinking that way."

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

Leo's eyes lit up. "Hey, Dad! Can you help me make one of those when we're done here?"

Hephaestus' scowl lessened an inch, and his eyes twinkled. "Sure!"

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends-I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists-and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

Most of the members in the room gritted their teeth.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray- painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

Jason blinked. "He has an… interesting way of describing things."

"True," Rachel agreed. "But it's still fairly accurate… I can actually picture a girl with liquid Cheetos freckles." Jason shrugged.

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

"A wave?" Athena eyed Poseidon suspiciously, who looked away innocently.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us. **

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"**

**"-the water-"**

**"-like it grabbed her-"**

"POSEIDON!" Zeus sent a bolt of lightning in the sea god's direction.

"Dad!" Thalia glared at her father, gesturing between herself and Jason. "One oath broken versus two! You don't have a right to attack Poseidon!"

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again. **

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc. , etc. , Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey-"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

Hermes and the Stolls winced. "_Never_ guess your punishment…" Travis muttered.

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"No shit, Sherlock." Thalia muttered.

Apollo raised an eyebrow at the huntress. "Does _everyone_ curse in the future?"

Nico shrugged. "Pretty much."

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said. **

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her. "**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death. **

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled. **

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said. **

**"But-"**

**"You-**_**will**_**-stay-here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

"I'd _love_ to wipe that _smirk_ off the bitch's face…" Thalia snarled. She muttered a few more curses, then settled down.

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

Hades smirked. "I'll bet it isn't worse than _mine_."

Nico shuddered. "Dad, I can say from personal experience on _both sides_, you'd _definitely_ lose that bet…"

Hades' mouth dropped open, and Thalia glanced over at Nico. "He's used it on you, too?"

Nico nodded. "When I got really hyper off of candy and tried to kiss his girlfriend." There were several snickers as Annabeth flushed and stared daggers at Nico.

Aphrodite's eyes lit up. "He has a girlfriend?"

Will nodded. "I saw him give the stare to a new son of Aphrodite during a swordsmanship class when the guy smirked at Percy's girlfriend's _butt_ in a way _every _guy should know instead of paying attention…"

Thalia smirked. "Percy had a sword then, didn't he? What'd he do?"

"He knocked the guy on his butt and said in a voice that scared anyone within earshot, 'Eyes on me, Ander. If you let distractions get the better of you in a _real_ fight, you'll be dead before you can say, "Ouch."' The guy looked absolutely _terrified_." Laughter resonated throughout the room.

Poseidon smirked at his son's ferocity. "Is there anyone he _hasn't_ used this stare on?"

All demigod eyes turned to Annabeth. She held her hands up in a gesture of innocence. "He used it on me during our first quest. I got the stare earlier than _all_ of you…"

Their eyes turned back to the book, and Athena glanced suspiciously at Annabeth. _Why would they think that she wasn't given an evil stare?_ She thought. _It _can't_ be that…_

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on. **

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"I don't think so, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered. Now Athena was _really_ suspicious. Why would her daughter have a nickname for the sea spawn, if none of the others seemed to?

**I wasn't so sure.**

"Smart boy," Hestia nodded.

**I went after Mrs. Dodds. **

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"If he dies, I'm going to _kill_ Chiron," Poseidon muttered.

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall. **

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"Not exactly," Travis called.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan. **

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. **

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"Perfect," Poseidon moaned. "No witnesses."

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling. **

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it... **

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said. **

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

"Wow," Thalia commented. "Percy doing the _safe_ thing?" She shrugged. "I guess there's a first for everything."

Poseidon blanched.

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil. **

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Don't hold your breath," Conner growled.

**I said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building. **

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

"Cool!" Leo and the Stolls cheered.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book. **

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's a good book, Seaweed Brain."

"Yeah," Travis countered. "If you're trying to fall into a coma." Laughter echoed around the hearth, and Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him.

**"Well?" she demanded. **

**"Ma'am, I don't... "**

**"Your time is up," she hissed. **

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"HADES!" Poseidon lunged forward to strangle the lord of the Underworld. "You sent a _fury_ after my son?"

"He's fine, My Lord!" Annabeth called. "Please, calm down so we can see what happens!" She was worried, and she hoped it didn't show on her face.

It did. Poseidon blinked in surprise at her. "You're a daughter of Athena. It's in your blood to hate me. Why do you seem to care so much about Percy's well-being?"

Athena glared at the sea god. "For once, we agree. Why do you care so much?"

Annabeth felt her face get hot. "He's not _just_ his father, mother. There's some Sally Jackson in that thick head of his. Probably more, since she raised him. He's my… best friend." She didn't want to admit her real relationship with Percy just yet. She was too afraid of what would happen.

Poseidon pursed his lips at her. Percy had always been fairly observant when it came to small things, and Poseidon seemed to be the same way. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Earthshaker, _Fine. He's my boyfriend. In the future, you seem fine with it, but my mom _hates_ Percy. _Please_ don't say anything._

Poseidon's eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled and winked, and his voice washed over her like a soft wave. _I do not hate Athena's children. Unlike her, I understand that she and her children are not alike. If Percy likes you enough to date you, that's good enough for me._

Annabeth let out a breath of air that she hadn't realized that she had been holding, and Poseidon chuckled. Athena eyed the two of them, but Annabeth waved for Hazel to continue before the wisdom goddess could say anything.

**Then things got even stranger.**

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand. **

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"A pen?" Leo asked. "What's a pen going to do?"

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me. **

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword-Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

"RIPTIDE!" Travis and Conner cheered. Leo's mouth dropped open.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes. **

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wimp," Ares immediately was doused with saltwater.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me.**

Everyone leaned in, enchanted by the story.

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Yes," Jason said sarcastically. "Because it's completely natural for a twelve-year old kid to swing a sword."

"For Percy, it is," Annabeth smiled at Poseidon. "It's in his blood to be a natural swordsman." Poseidon winked at her, and she chuckled.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss!**_

Cheering rose up around the hearth.

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

The group shivered.

"Creepy," Rachel commented.

**I was alone. **

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand. **

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me. **

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Right," Jason muttered. "Magic mushrooms."

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"Nope," Nico popped the 'p' as he spoke.

**I went back outside. **

**It had started to rain. **

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

**I said, "Who?"**

The group laughed. "Like father, like son," Apollo called.

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. **

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away. **

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was. **

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

Hermes turned to his sons, who were writing in a notebook. "Grover needs lying lessons."

"Way ahead of you, Dad," Travis turned to the blushing satyr. "Hermes cabin Friday at four. Don't be late."

Hermes wiped a fake tear, "I'm so proud."

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead. **

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved. **

**I went over to him. **

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson. "**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it. **

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

Hermes nodded approvingly, "Now _he_ can lie."

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

Travis grinned. "That's the way to do it. Make them think they're going crazy."

Hazel held up the book, "Who's reading next?"

"I will," called a voice that was familiar, and at the same time a complete stranger to Annabeth. "Depending on who you all are..."

**Who is the newcomer? Find out next chapter! Please comment!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	3. Knitting Socks of Death

**I do not own PJO. All credit goes to the _genius_ Rick Riordan.  
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Knitting Socks of Death:

Annabeth could only stare at the boy in front of her as he surveyed the room with a wary expression. There was no way she could forget that messy black hair that fell over those deep sea green eyes. But her heart felt like it was being torn in two. First, Percy disappeared for six months. Then, right before she could see him again, she was whisked away through time to this throne room, just so she could hear his thoughts and feelings, but not see him. Now, he was here standing in the doorway, and her heart raced. But… there was just one tiny problem…

He was eight.

She watched as Percy's observant eyes scanned the room, until they reached the thrones and they widened.

"Whoa," he said in his pre-pubescent voice that was so foreign and yet so familiar that Annabeth's heart ached. "Did I run into a meeting of Sasquatch Anonymous or something?"

The tension broke and the room burst into hysterics. That was just another thing that Annabeth loved about Percy. He could change the mood in a room just by calling out a single sentence.

Thalia and Nico stepped forward and briefly explained the Greek Gods and who the members of the room were. They saved Annabeth for last. Whether that was coincidental or not, she didn't know. And—honestly—she didn't care.

Percy's gaze traveled to each person as they were introduced. When it reached Annabeth, it lingered, and Annabeth held her breath. His brow furrowed, and his expression became unreadable.

In the background, she noticed Nico lean in and whisper loudly to Thalia, "I wonder what he will say…"

"Knowing Percy," she sighed. "It'll either be something stupid, or something extremely blunt."

Sure enough, when Percy finally spoke, his first words to Annabeth were, "You're pretty." She flushed.

The demigods burst into laughter, and Athena glared at the young son of Poseidon. When they caught their breath, Thalia and Nico leaned over and whispered something intelligible to a confused Percy. After a few moments, his eyes widened, and he blushed furiously, causing the room to erupt in a fresh round of laughter.

When the Stolls finished rolling on the floor, they all went to sit around the hearth. Annabeth happened to notice Percy pick up a note that had fallen in front of him, read it quickly, and shove it into his back pocket. When he noticed her watching him, he gave her an expression that said, _Tell you later_. She shrugged, and went to sit next to him. He blushed, but said nothing, and took the book from Hazel.

The moment that Percy touched it, the pages turned black, and the writing into white English—the best situation for Dyslexic eyes. Percy blinked in surprise, "Cool."

"By the way," Travis raised his hand like he was in school, and Percy turned to face him. "Why are you taking all of this full stride?"

Thalia leaned forward. "I know him well enough to know what to say to make him understand."

"That," Percy added. "And stranger things have happened to me before."

Annabeth briefly explained what had happened in the last chapter. His observant and attentive eyes never left hers, and she shifted uncomfortably. When she finished, he nodded, turned to the book, and began to read.

"Chapter two: **Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**"

"This should be interesting," Nico sat up at the mention of "death.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty- four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr-a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. **

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

"That's because you _are_ psycho," Thalia muttered. Percy stuck his tongue out at her.

**It got so I almost believed them-Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

"Five drachmas says it's Grover," Travis called.

"No way, man," Conner shook his head. "_No one's _stupid enough to take _that_ bet." Grover flushed and muttered something intelligible.

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Figures," Nico chuckled. Grover blushed harder.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

"Wow, Grover," Thalia shook her head. "If _Kelp Head_ can figure out when you're lying, then you must really _suck_ at it."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Kelp Head?"

Nico shrugged, "_Everyone's_ got a nickname for you Perce. Get used to it."

**Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum. **

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

Annabeth shuddered. "You'll have worse dreams."

Percy paled considerably, and Annabeth slid a reassuring arm around him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. He may have been eight, but he was _still_ Percy. He could make her melt into a puddle just by glancing her way.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"What are you two fighting about _this_ time?" Hera sighed in exasperation, and Zeus and Poseidon shrugged.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

Athena glared at Percy, who shrugged, uncaring.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class. **

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot.**

Annabeth giggled, and Piper, Leo, and Jason stared at her in shock. She never _smiled_, let alone _giggled_. They had always wondered how Percy could like someone so cold and distant. Now, they realized that she was just like that because he was gone.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"It means an old drunk," Annabeth giggled again, and the confused members of the group chuckled.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy. **

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

"Geez, Perce," Nico shook his head, and Percy glanced up from the book. "You're even sarcastic in your _thoughts_."

Percy shrugged. "Why be sunshiny and optimistic, when you can take others people's minds off of annoyances through sarcasm?"

Nico opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again. "Touché."

Percy chuckled and turned back to the book.

**I was homesick.**

"Wimp," Ares muttered. He immediately got a mouthful of saltwater.

Percy grinned at his dad. "Thanks."

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Poseidon's hands clenched into fists, and he looked like he was ready to rip the book into pieces.

"Note to self," Percy called out. "Get Dad and Gabe alone in the same room together, then find life insurance papers to give to Mom." The group erupted in laughter, and Poseidon flushed and unclenched his fists.

**And yet... There were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.**

Artemis and Grover nodded approvingly at his love of natural beauties.

**I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend,**

Grover smiled at that.

**even if he was a little strange.**

The smile instantly disappeared, and he glared at Percy, who shifted uncomfortably and kept his eyes on the book.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me. I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. **

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Smart boy," Athena muttered.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.**

Athena gasped in outrage at the mistreatment of the book.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one- eighties as if they were riding skateboards.**

"Look out!" Travis held up his hands like Frankenstein. "It's The Night of the Skateboarding Letters!" Several demigods chuckled, the rest just rolled their eyes. Katie smacked Travis upside the head.

**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,**

"Well," Annabeth glanced over at Percy. "You know _now_…" Percy and his father paled, wondering how he would have met Charon.

**or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

Hazel, Frank, and Jason rolled their eyes. "That's easy," Jason muttered.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

The Stolls shuddered. "I feel bad for you, man," Travis said.

Percy glanced up, "How do you know what that feels like?"

"Prank gone bad. Let's leave it at that."

Several people wrinkled their noses in distaste.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson. **_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book. **

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before.**

"That probably explains your terrible grades," Athena grumbled. Percy shrugged.

**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Aww," Aphrodite smiled sweetly, and all of the male demigods stared. "You want to impress Chiron! Isn't that cute?"

Percy just sat there with his mouth open, like the other guys. When Annabeth nudged him, her face tinged with annoyance, his only response was, "Uhh?"

"_Read,_ Seaweed Brain," Annabeth glared at him. Percy took one look at Annabeth's death stare, and snapped out of his stupor. Quickly, he turned back to the book. Several older Greek demigods snickered.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor. **

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... Worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze. **

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

Several half-bloods scoffed. "Well, he wasn't _before_ he knew who he was…" Grover put in.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"Nope," Conner chuckled. "I'd lose that bet for _sure_."

**I inched closer. **

**"... Alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"That's going to take a while," Nico joked. Then—mysteriously—he gulped and shivered in fear.

All eyes followed his gaze, and they also shivered at what they saw.

Hades kept his eyes on Percy, but he leaned over and whispered to the closest person: Katie. "Is _that_ his I'll-Kill-You-Later stare?"

Katie gulped. "Uh-huh."

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline-"**

"Summer solstice deadline?" Athena turned to the demigods for an explanation, but all of those who knew the answer didn't say a word. Thalia gestured for Percy to continue.

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he saw her..."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"Not with _Grover_ on the job!" Travis said Grover's name like he was a superhero from a comic book. Eye rolls and chuckles passed through the room. Katie punched him in the arm, and Aphrodite glanced at them with interest.

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"You _never_ failed, Grover!" Thalia insisted. "That was _my _choice!"

"Wait, what?" Zeus stared wide-eyed between Thalia and Grover, both of whom refused to speak.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

Conner groaned, "Rule number seven: _Never_ give away your position."

**Mr. Brunner went silent. **

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"At least he cleaned up the evidence," Travis muttered. "That's rule number eight."

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow. **

"Why is he in full form?" Rachel asked.

Grover shrugged. "He gets cramps."

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside. **

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop**_**, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on. **

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck. **

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"What happened at the Winter Solstice?" Athena asked.

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow. "**

**"Don't remind me."**

Grover grimaced. "The absolute _worst_ part of being a protector…"

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office. **

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. **

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm. **

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night. **

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer. **

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... Tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression,**

"Won't work," Dionysus yawned. "He can read your emotions."

Everyone stared at him. "You're paying attention?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course not, Annabelle! Why would you think that?"

**and started getting ready for bed. **

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing. **

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"THREE HOURS?" Even Annabeth looked disgusted.

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside. **

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem. **

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... It's for the best."**

"Uh-oh…" Annabeth muttered.

"What?" Poseidon looked at her curiously.

"Percy's going to take it the wrong way and storm out."

"Oh yeah?" Travis grinned. "I'll bet you five drachmas he _doesn't_."

Annabeth smirked, "You're on."

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips. **

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Jeez," Nico grimaced. "Chiron _sucks_ at pep talks…"

**My eyes stung. **

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

**"Right," I said, trembling. **

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... You're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy-"**

**But I was already gone.**

Travis sighed, and handed a triumphant Annabeth five drachmas.

Percy glanced over at her. "How did you know I was going to do that? As near as I can tell, you don't know me yet…"

Annabeth smiled, "I just know you _that_ well, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

Percy flushed and looked back down at the book.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase. **

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"Uncle P's a nobody?" Apollo stared incredulously at the sea god, who sighed.

"No," Annabeth smirked. "But his _son_ is Nobody…"

Grover and Clarisse cracked up, and the others stared at them weirdly.

"Inside joke," was all Grover said.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city. **

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

Hera sighed sympathetically.

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

Thalia muttered a few swears, and the others glared at the book.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"What a coincidence," Conner said sarcastically.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound. **

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. **

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"Nearly gave me a heart attack," Grover muttered as the others snickered.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"Rule number fourteen," Conner shook his head disapprovingly. "_Never_ admit your doings."

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

**"Oh ... Not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"**

"So… the whole thing," Will laughed.

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Agreed," muttered every half-blood in the room. Grover turned the color of cherries.

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer. **

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800) 009-000)**_

Athena turned to Dionysus. "Why is it in such a fancy script?"

The wine god shrugged. "It's funny to watch them try to read it…"

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... Summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or ... Or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"Harsh…" Leo commented.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Well," Hera sighed. "At least he regretted it."

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him. **

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.**

Aphrodite cooed at that.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me. **

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway. **

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else. **

**We were on a stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand. **

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Annabeth sucked in a deep breath. Percy had never told her about this, so she had no idea what was coming, and was worried.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

"No…" Annabeth started to shiver. "Oh, please no…"

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

"NO!" Annabeth shrieked. "He saw the Fates!" A gasp rang out throughout the room, and Percy paled. Poseidon stared worriedly at his son, and the demigods motioned frantically for Percy to continue.

Athena, however, was staring wide-eyed at her favorite daughter. She had solved the puzzle, and was horrified by the completed picture.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

Annabeth whimpered, and subconsciously pulled Percy onto her cross-legged lap. He didn't complain, sensing that she needed the comfort that he was alive and well, and simply continued to read, ignoring the stares from the demigods.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching. **

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

Half-hearted chuckling rang out in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

Annabeth tightened her arms around Percy's waist, and she buried her face in his raven-black hair. She gave a small, muffled cry, and the other demigods glanced at her sympathetically.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"Please go," Annabeth whispered, though she knew that he wouldn't.

**"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

"Idiot," Rachel muttered.

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip**_** across four lanes of traffic.**

Annabeth whimpered, and the half-bloods stared mournfully down at their shoes.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for-Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Annabeth let out a small giggle. She lifted her head and smiled at Percy, whose face had turned a deep shade of crimson. "Leave it to you to make a joke in the face of death," she sighed.

Percy smiled sheepishly, "Sorry?"

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life. **

**The passengers cheered.**

"Of course it works _now_…" Poseidon muttered.

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. **

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering. **

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds.**

Hestia nodded. "You're right, Athena. He _is _quite observant."

Percy flushed, but Athena was too busy glaring at the Sea Spawn and her daughter's closeness to pay attention.

**He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.**

"Yup," Will called. "Observant."

"Funny, isn't it?" Thalia added. "How he picks up on the small things, but not the really _big obvious_ signals… What do you think, Annabeth?"

Annabeth and Percy flushed, and he slid off of her lap.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal. **

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me. "**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

"Some promise," Grover scoffed.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked. **

**No answer. **

**"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Knowing Grover, he probably was…" Annabeth sighed.

"That's the end of the chapter." Percy held up the book.

"Hold up," Athena held up her hand, signaling for Percy to wait. "I'd like my daughter to be a little bit honest with me."

"Um…" Annabeth's mind went into overdrive, trying to find a way out of this. "Honest about what?"

"Oh, don't try to lie to the Goddess of Wisdom, Annabeth," Athena sighed in frustration. Then she turned to Percy, and he shrank down under her icy cold gaze. "Daughter, you're dating the Sea Spawn, aren't you?"

**CLIFFHANGER!**

**What will Annabeth and Percy come up with? Will Athena approve of their relationship? And what was on that paper that Percy slid into his back pocket?**

**Find out by reviewing and keeping in touch!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	4. Losing Grover's Pants

**I do not own PJO. All credit goes to the _genius_ Rick Riordan.  
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Losing Grover's Pants:

"Well?" Athena stared daggers at Percy and Annabeth. "Are you dating him! Or, at least, the him from _your_ time."

Annabeth glanced at her friends for help, but they all sighed and shook their heads. There was _no use_ lying to the goddess of Wisdom. She took a deep breath. Took several deep breaths.

"Yes," Annabeth finally said. "We're dating."

Aphrodite shrieked with delight. "This is _soo_ cute! Their love blossoms even through their parent's hatred! Just like Romeo and Juliet!" Percy and Annabeth flushed. Athena didn't seem to agree. In fact, she seemed to be struggling against the urge to kill Percy.

Percy turned to the love goddess and raised an eyebrow. "Um, I'm _pretty sure_ Annabeth isn't an over-obedient fourteen year old who'll kill herself over a guy that she met four days beforehand…"

The demigods that knew Percy stared at him in shock. "H-how did you know the plotline of Romeo and Juliet?" Annabeth stammered.

Percy shrugged, "We're working on it in class right now. Honestly, if you ask me in a few weeks, I'll probably have forgotten everything about the book. I'm not too good with memorizing words on a page."

"Enough," Athena snarled. She turned to Annabeth. "Daughter, explain yourself! Why are you dating this _Sea Spawn_?"

Annabeth swallowed. Hard. Then she cleared her throat, and spoke, "I'm dating him… because… out of all of the people I've been close to in my lifetime… he's the only one who hasn't left me alone of his own accord yet. I chose him because he's strong, courageous, and loves his family and friends more than anything else. He puts his own health and safety at the bottom of his list of priorities, and he always knows what to say to lighten the mood in a room. He knows how to annoy me… how to make me laugh… and how to comfort me when I cry. He's the most selfless and pure-hearted person I know. He's not perfect—believe me. Sometimes he can be so _dense_, and he has the biggest temper out of anyone I know. But—then again—how _boring_ would _perfect_ be?" She turned to face a furiously blushing Percy, and finished, "I chose him because—with his good looks—he could have _any_ girl he wanted. Instead, it was _me_ that he saw when he bathed in the River Styx. _Me_ that he traveled across the country to find. _Me_ that he admitted that he had feelings for on his sixteenth birthday. And it was _me_ that he kissed just before he left. I chose _him_… because he chose _me_…"

She trailed off, running her fingers through Percy's hair, as the half-bloods looked on in sympathy. Athena sat in her chair, staring at her daughter in shock. Aphrodite tried to hold back a squeal at the amount of love that Annabeth let off. The entire room seemed enchanted into silence.

Surprisingly, it was Frank that broke the silence. "H-hey, Annabeth?" Annabeth looked up.

"Um," Frank rubbed the back of his neck. "W-well… I-I've been meaning to tell you this, but with Athena and your relationship with Percy and all…" He cleared his throat and continued. "What you said about leaving you alone of his own accord yet? He still hasn't done that."

Annabeth perked up. "You mean he remembers me?"

Frank smiled sheepishly. "Um… he never forgot…"

The Greek's jaws dropped to the floor. "W-what?" Thalia stammered.

Frank grinned, happy that he could give Annabeth _some_ relief about Percy's disappearance. "His first day at Camp Jupiter… I asked him what he remembered. He told me that he remembered murky glimpses and that he had a girlfriend named _Annabeth_."

Annabeth covered her mouth with her hands, and her eyes were shining. She glanced down at the eight year old Percy, who seemed thoroughly embarrassed at the conversations. He was blushing from head to toe. He clearly seemed uncomfortable with the attention that he was getting, because he tossed Grover the book. "_Read_," he said firmly, like talking to a dog.

Grover caught the book and glanced at Annabeth for permission. She nodded, and Grover began. With good timing, too. The gods were coming out of their stupors and preparing to ask Annabeth about the parts of her rant about the River Styx, traveling across the country, and Percy's "leaving" and apparent memory loss.

"Chapter three: **Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants**" Grover grimaced at the title as the others laughed uncontrollably.

** Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

Hera glared at Percy, who ducked down, looking like he was trying to sink into the floor.

** I know, I know. It was rude.**

"Well," Hera huffed. "At least you admitted it."

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

Travis and Conner grimaced, "I don't blame you there, Perce," Conner muttered. "Even _I've_ got to admit that that's freaky." Grover flushed and gave Percy a small apology.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up,**

Grover flushed at the snickering that rose around the room.

**so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown. **

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First, " I told the driver. **

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"She's amazing!" Percy smiled.

"She makes the _best _blue cookies in the world!" Nico added.

"She takes all of Percy's antics full stride," Annabeth chuckled.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

Several of the group frowned at that.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, **

"Why do _we_ get the Zap-Happy Dad?" Thalia complained to her brother, who shrugged. Zeus flushed as the gods and demigods laughed at his children's remarks.

**and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

Hestia sighed, "Such as the world has come to. More sadness, more illness, and more unneeded violence that can easily be avoided."

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

Aphrodite cooed as Poseidon smiled sadly down at the book.

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

"I visited you when your mother was at work," Poseidon smiled at his son, and the other demigods felt a twinge of jealousy that Percy could have such a caring godly parent.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures. **

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. **

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Not a lie, but still not the whole truth," Hermes nodded in approval. "Nice choice Uncle P."

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

"Understatement of the century," Nico laughed. All those who knew Percy well chuckled in agreement. Hazel and Frank exchanged a glance, wondering how much they didn't know about their new friend.

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

Several wrinkled their noses in distaste, and Grover inched away from Percy's scowl. Even though it was directed at the book, Percy's glare was still unnerving.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... Well, when I came home is a good example.**

All leaned forward in curiosity.

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet. **

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"That's it?" Annabeth yelled. "No 'Welcome back?'"

Percy frowned thoughtfully, "Honestly, Annabeth… if he _did_ say something along those lines… I probably would have died of shock." Annabeth muttered to herself, then waved for Grover to continue.

**That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**

"Wow," Thalia grinned teasingly at Annabeth. "I think you hung out with your boyfriend too much before he left."

"Left?" Athena asked. "I thought you said that he hasn't left you yet."

Annabeth waved the question away. "I'm sure it'll be explained in the books."

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Aphrodite conjured up a brown paper bag and began to vomit into it.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Immediately, all Hades broke loose.

Sparks ran across Thalia's body. Poseidon made all of the water in the room go insane. Annabeth stared at the book like she'd like to rip it to shreds. Clarisse glowed with a bright red aura. Nico's palms erupted in black fire. Katie caused the plants to grow at an alarming rate. Will began to glow as bright as the sun. Travis and Conner wrote frantically in their prank notebooks, planning to hurt Gabe severely when they got back. Olympus began to shake and rumble.

"Stop!" a voice cried.

Percy wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist and buried his head in her stomach. "Please stop!" he called, his voice muffled from Annabeth's shirt. "Gabe's not worth it. Don't put an unnecessary death over your head! He's still _technically_ mortal."

Annabeth stared down at Percy, and the others glanced at the trembling boy, and felt a flash of shame. He had only just barely learned of the existence of the Greek Gods, and the strength of their powers must have been terrifying them. The demigods settled back down, and the room stopped shaking. Annabeth slid her arms around a shaking Percy, and whispered calming words in his ear. Very slowly, he stilled, and Grover continued. Annabeth kept her arms around Percy, and he didn't complain, purposely avoiding Athena's glares.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him. **

**He raised a greasy eyebrow. **

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

Athena gasped, having figured out why Sally married Gabe. She stared at Poseidon in astonishment. "Y-you actually found an _intelligent_ woman for once…"

Poseidon smiled sadly at the book, and didn't bother arguing with Athena.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"Well, at least _someone_ is human," Hera muttered.

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated. **

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"I stand corrected," Hera wrinkled her nose in distaste, along with most in the room. "They're the foulest beings ever to call themselves _human_."

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Brain Boy? He needs to work on his insults."

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer. **

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Gods, Percy," Thalia shook her head. "You are the _king_ of sarcasm." Percy chuckled good-naturedly.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn. **

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone- something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

Several members of the room shivered.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

"Wimp," Ares muttered. Instantly, a ball of water rose out of the tiny feature in the corner and soaked the God of War. "POSEIDON!"

Poseidon blinked in confusion, "It… wasn't… _me_."

Ares sat dripping wet for a moment. Then, his eyes widened, and twenty-nine pairs of eyes turned to face to innocent-looking Son of Poseidon, who shrugged, "Guilty."

Ares rose up to strangle the kid, but before he could, two arrows pointed at his face. One gold, one silver.

"This boy is different from most," Artemis said calmly. "I would like to know how he deals with situations in the future."

"And I think that the kid's awesome," Apollo added. "There's _no way_ I'm letting you kill him yet."

Ares grumbled, but sat down. The twin archers followed, but they kept their arrows trained on the God of War.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

Annabeth smiled, "Sally has that motherly instinct to her. She makes _anyone_ feel that way."

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

"Lucky!" Leo and the Stolls complained.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

All the females in the room cooed, and the guys smiled softly.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**I gritted my teeth.**

As did almost everyone around the hearth.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

Poseidon smiled, "How about a god?"

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"Dang," Travis shook his head, "No need to give you exaggeration lessons. I think you've got _that_ down _pat_."

**Until that trip to the museum... **

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie!" Hermes yelled, and the entire group stared at him incredulously. "What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with our father?" Conner pointed a finger at him accusingly. Chuckles rang out around the throne room.

**I felt bad lying.**

Hera nodded. "As you should."

**I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"Not to her," Annabeth whispered, but everyone heard her.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me. **

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

Thalia grinned at Annabeth, "I heard that you came along a few times, Annabeth. Some even _before_ you two started dating. How was it?"

Annabeth flushed. "Later. Keep reading, Grover." Percy's face turned a violent shade of crimson.

**"Three nights-same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money. **

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here. **

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"He'd _better_," Poseidon's voice rose to a dangerous level.

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step-father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Bribery," Hermes nodded approvingly. "I _like_ her."

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... It comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

Aphrodite conjured up another bag, but this time she breathed into it. _Budget on clothes? Budget on _clothes?

**"Yes, honey," my mother said. **

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"Do it! Do it!" Nearly everyone cheered.

"Well, the kid's got some pretty good ideas," Hades mused. He took out a list of punishments for the Fields of Punishment and jotted it down.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

"For _you_, Perce," Grover said.

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

"Like I said," Thalia chuckled. "_King_ of Sarcasm."

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

"Tiny brain indeed," Athena nodded in agreement.

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... Whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes-the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride-as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air. **

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip. **

**An hour later we were ready to leave. **

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking-and more important, his '78 Camaro-for the whole weekend.**

"Yes," Annabeth said sarcastically, "because your Camaro is _so_ important."

"Again," Thalia muttered. "You spent _way_ too much time with Percy." Annabeth shrugged, uncaring.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

Nico snorted in disgust. "Percy had a _license_?" he asked sarcastically.

"Scratch that," Thalia commented. "We _all_ spent too much time with Percy."

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

Most of the members of the room gritted their teeth.

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe.**

Thalia raised her eyebrows. "He learns _fast_."

**The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair-case as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

The gods' jaws dropped. "Wait," Thalia stared incredulously at the book. "It _worked_?"

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out. **

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

Laughter bounced around the echoey room.

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

Thalia's eyebrows touched her hairline, and she turned to Annabeth, "_Spiders_? How did you handle it?"

Annabeth flushed. "I made him check the cabin before I went in, and when I _did_ find a spider, I held tightly to his hand."

Nico's raised an eyebrow and smirked, "You held his _hand_? I thought you said that there were times that you came _before_ you started dating! What'd he do?"

"He didn't complain, although his face was red for a while. As for _after_ we started dating and I came, he just chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist." Annabeth felt her cheeks get hot, and she stared down at her lap. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Percy's face about the same color as hers.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

Katie snorted. "Like _that's_ going to stop him."

**I loved the place. **

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

Aphrodite squealed, and Poseidon blushed and smiled at the book.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

"It's like her soul is connected to the sea," Athena mused. She turned to Poseidon. "Is _that_ what made you interested in her?"

Poseidon nodded. "_That_ and that she's clear-sighted."

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work. **

"Okay," Leo raised his hand like he was in school, "what's with the blue food?"

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Oh," Leo flushed and the others chuckled.

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This-along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano-was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

Annabeth snorted. "Percy doesn't have a rebellious _streak_. For him, it's more like a hobby." Percy blushed as the older Greeks nodded in agreement.

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop. **

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk-my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

Aphrodite smiled at Percy, who blushed and stared shyly down at his lap.

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes. "**

"That's true," Annabeth spoke without looking up. "Percy's almost an exact copy of his father, the only difference being their ages, of course."

The others' gazes moved between the Sea God and his father, then nodded in agreement. Even the way they carried themselves were the same. Laid-back. Though, somehow, that _added_ to the aura of power that surrounded the both of them.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

"That's only on the surface, Percy," Annabeth smiled down at the suddenly shy and blushing eight year old.

Thalia snickered and leaned over to whisper in Nico's ear, "I think _Percy's_ got a bit of a _crush_ on his future girlfriend…"

Nico smirked at the two. "Agreed."

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... When he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... He knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... Something about my father. A warm glow. A smile. **

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me ... **

**I felt angry at my father.**

Poseidon hung his head in shame. "Don't worry, My Lord," Annabeth smiled reassuringly at the Stormbringer. "He loves you, _now_." Poseidon gave her a thankful smile.

**Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe. **

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire. **

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?" I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

Hera nodded disapprovingly. "As you should."

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said-that it was best for me to leave Yancy. **

**"Because I'm not normal," I said. **

"You're not normal, even by _demigod_ standards," Annabeth smiled fondly at the boy, and the older Greeks nodded in agreement.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are.**

Will sighed, "She doesn't know how _right_ she is…"

**I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me-all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget. **

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

Zeus turned to his brother, "You sent a Cyclops after him?" Poseidon shrugged.

**Before that-a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

Piper whistled, "Just like Hercules."

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move. **

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"Yes," Hera said sarcastically. "Endanger _both_ of your lives just so you can spend time with your mortal parent talking about your daddy."

"Any of us would have done the same thing," Annabeth muttered. The half-bloods nodded in agreement.

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy-the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."  
><strong>"GO CAMP HALFBLOOD!" The Stolls cheered.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad-who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born- talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

"That _would_ be confusing," Chris mused.

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry. **

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

"Uh, oh," Annabeth slid her arm around Percy's shoulders.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with a dream?"

"_Percy's_ dreams," Thalia piped up, "are _highly _vivid—"

"—and _highly_ prophetic," Nico finished. Poseidon turned a deep shade of green, and shrank down in his seat.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

The gods turned to Hades, who raised his eyebrow and shook his head, "Not me. I don't think."

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

**I woke with a start. **

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.**

"Aw, Uncle P," Apollo shook his head sadly. "How could you forget?"

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end. **

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door. **

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock. **

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... He wasn't exactly Grover.**

Hephaestus raised his eyebrows, "Well, what _was_ he?"

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror-not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come. **

**"Percy " she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. **

**"**_**O Zeu kai alloi theoi!**_**" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

The Roman demigods tilted their heads to the side in confusion, "What?"

Strangely, it was Percy that answered them, "It means _Oh Zeus and other gods_. But… how did I know that?"

"You're a Greek demigod," Annabeth put in. "Simple as that."

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on-and where his legs should be ... Where his legs should be...**

"Get to the point!" Apollo yelled.

The others figured out what it was, and chuckled.

"Well," Thalia snickered, "that would have been a bit of a rude awakening…"

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning. **

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro-but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked. **

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Ah…" Apollo settled back down. "That explains it."

"When are we getting to the action?" Ares complained.

"It should be in the next chapter or so," Grover answered. Then he held up the book. "Who wants to read next?"

"I will," called a voice from behind them…

**CLIFFY!**

**Please review! Ten and I will update!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	5. Teaching Kids Bullfighting

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I was grounded because _some_ people think that writing is a horrible job prospect and that I suck at it. *cough* Dad *cough* (I _don't_ suck at it! …Do I?)**

**Anyways, here's Chapter four! Enjoy!**

**P.S. According to my driver's license, I am not Rick Riordan. Therefore, I do not own PJO.  
><strong>

Teaching Kids Bullfighting:

"Chiron!" the demigods cheered.

Sure enough, the wise old centaur was standing in the doorway, his kindly voice still bouncing off of the walls. Next to him, stood a middle-aged mortal that the eldest Greeks recognized.

Sally glanced around the room, until her gaze finally rested on Poseidon, and she blushed to the tips of her hair. "Poseidon!" she squeaked. She glanced at the boy sitting across from the Sea God. "And Percy! Um… I can explain, Percy…"

Annabeth rushed over and quietly explained to the two what they were doing and what had happened so far. When she finished, the three headed over to join the group, Annabeth returning to her spot by Percy, Sally sitting down on her son's other side. Chiron kneeled down between Annabeth and Thalia, and Grover passed him the book.

"Chapter four: **My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting**" He glanced worriedly at Poseidon and the Jacksons before continuing.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind-shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

Ares nodded at Sally in approval, "That's the _best _way to drive."

Hephaestus tapped his chin thoughtfully. "_That_ explains why your chariot's in my forges so often…" There was some chuckling, but it quickly died down at Ares' glare.

Thalia leaned over and whispered to the demigods, "Percy's glare is scarier." They all nodded in agreement.

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

Travis grinned and opened his mouth. But before he could say anything, Katie cut him off. "_No._ You are _not _getting shag-carpet pants."

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo- lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal. **

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... Know each other?"**

"Way to break the ice, Percy," Rachel chuckled.

**Grover's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you." **

Travis smirked. "That kind of makes Grover sound like a stalker."

**"Watching me?" **

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend." **

**"Um ... What are you, exactly?" **

**"That doesn't matter right now." **

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey-"**

"Ooh," Nico grimaced. "Grover isn't going to like that…"

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!" **

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat. **

Several people chuckled.

**"Goat!" he cried. **

**"What?" **

**"I'm a goat from the waist down." **

Thalia chuckled. "You just said it didn't matter."

**"You just said it didn't matter." **

Thalia paled. Then she turned to glare at Percy. "If anyone asks, you think like me, alright?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, but he nodded.

**"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!" **

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?" **

"Not exactly _my_ myths Percy." Chiron chuckled.

"Wait," Leo spoke up. "So Mr. Brunner _is_ Chiron?" Several older Greeks nodded.

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?" **

**"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" **

"What does _that_ have to do with anything!" Thalia cried out in exasperation. "You're missing the point!"

Percy stuck his tongue out at her. "I probably wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy."

**"Of course." **

**"Then why-" **

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are." **

**"Who I-wait a minute, what do you mean?" **

"Grover," Annabeth sighed. "You're just confusing him _more_!"

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail. **

Everyone leaned in, enchanted by the story.

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety." **

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?" **

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions." **

**"Grover!" **

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?" **

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird. **

"And yet," Jason chuckled, "you can come up with Magic Mushrooms."

"When you say 'Magic Mushrooms,' he sounds like Mario…"Travis laughed.

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences. **

"You're almost there," Poseidon pleaded. "Hurry, hurry, hurry…"

**"Where are we going?" I asked. **

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you." **

Sally sighed. She had known that this was coming.

**"The place you didn't want me to go." **

**"Please, dear, " my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger. " **

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn." **

"Well, when you put it that way," Leo chuckled. "It sounds ridiculous."

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means-the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... When someone's about to die." **

"Grover!" The demigods yelled at the slip-up. Grover blushed.

Percy, Sally, Poseidon, and Annabeth paled considerably, and Annabeth pulled Percy closer.

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'" **

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'" **

**"You meant 'you.' As in me." **

**"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you." **

"Wait," Apollo tilted his head to the side. "What?"

**"Boys!" my mom said. **

"Thank you!" Hera called in exasperation.

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid-a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm. **

**"What was that?" I asked. **

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please." **

"Please. Please. Please." Annabeth and Poseidon took up the chant under their breath.

**I didn't know where _there_ was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive. **

The eight-year old Percy did the same thing.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness-the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me. **

"No shit, Sherlock," Thalia muttered.

Much to everyone's surprise, Percy retorted with, "Screw you, Watson." The cousins glared at each other, ignoring the laughter all around them.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... And the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling _boom_!, and our car exploded. **

Everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation.

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time. **

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow." **

**"Percy!" my mom shouted. **

**"I'm okay..." **

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in. **

**Lightning. **

"ZEUS!" Poseidon screamed. "If they die, you are going to pay _dearly_!" Zeus shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!" **

"Oh, no," Sally whispered.

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die! **

Artemis blinked. "He's extremely _loyal_ for a boy. Very unusual compared to most boys I've met."

"Yes," Athena nodded in agreement. "But there _is_ such a thing as being _too_ loyal. For a possible hero of a prophecy, that is a very dangerous trait to have…"

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope. **

A chuckle rose up around the fire, and Grover flushed.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered. **

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns. **

A gasp rang out throughout the room, and Poseidon rushed forward and threw multiple punches at Hades. "You sent the _Minotaur_ after my SON?" It took several minutes and multiple pleads from god and demigod alike to get the Sea God to settle down, but he eventually did, and motioned for Chiron to continue.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is-" **

**"Percy, " my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car." **

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking. **

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy-you have to run. Do you see that big tree?" **

**"What?" **

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill. **

"Oh, look," Thalia smiled wryly. "I'm mentioned."

All of those who didn't know the story stared at her like she was crazy, but she just waved it off. "It should be explained at _some_ point. Chiron, you'd better just keep going."

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door. " **

**"Mom, you're coming too." **

Hestia sighed sadly, "She _can't_, young hero." Percy's eyes widened, and he stared at his mother in fear.

**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean. **

**"No!" I shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover. " **

Hera smiled, "Loyal to his friends and his mother." She glared at Ares and Hephaestus indignantly, "Why can't _you_ be like that?"

Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "I'll let you know the next time you decide to throw me off Olympus."

Hera didn't have an answer to that one.

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder. **

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands-huge meaty hands-were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... Was his head. And the points that looked like horns ... **

All through this paragraph, Poseidon sank lower and lower into his chair, and Percy began to shiver with fear. Annabeth pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head. Percy's fists clenched in his lap, and he bowed his head so the others couldn't see his expression. Sally ran her fingers comfortingly through his hair.

**"He doesn't want us, " my mother told me. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line. " **

**"But... " **

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please. " **

**I got mad, then-mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, **

Travis snickered, then turned to smirk at the satyr. "Can I call you that from now on?"

"… No."

**at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull. **

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom. " **

**"I told you-" **

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover. " **

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid. **

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist- high grass. **

"You should really mow that, Dionysus," Demeter sighed. "It's going to get half-bloods killed."

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine-bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear-**

Leo and the Stolls burst out laughing. Jason raised his eyebrows. "Is he serious?"

**I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms-**

More laughter. Conner fell over, clutching his sides.

**which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders. **

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener. **

The room laughed again, and Piper smirked with amusement at the book. "He certainly has a funny way of describing things…"

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real. **

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's-" **

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said. **

Athena nodded in approval. "Don't say his name."

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you. " **

**"But he's the Min-" **

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power." **

Athena smiled at Sally. "You're quite an intelligent woman, Ms. Jackson."

Sally flushed at the goddess' praise, and smiled shyly.

**The pine tree was still way too far-a hundred yards uphill at least. **

**I glanced behind me again. **

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows-or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away. **

"He can't see," Annabeth whispered.

**"Food?" Grover moaned. **

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?" **

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough. " **

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded. **

"Yeah!" Travis cheered.

**Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying. **

**Oops. **

The group burst into hysterics at Percy's thoughts.

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way- directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?" **

**"How do you know all this?" **

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me. " **

Artemis shook her head. "You couldn't _possibly_ be selfish. From what I've heard so far, your upbringing has taught this boy a _lot_. It is _good_ that he stayed with you." Athena and Hera nodded in agreement.

**"Keeping me near you? But-" **

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill. **

**He'd smelled us. **

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter. **

**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us. **

The only sound that could be heard throughout the room was the slow trickling of the water feature.

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said. " **

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right-it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat. **

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest. **

**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side. **

A sigh of relief echoed along the walls.

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass. **

Percy caught his breath, and Poseidon turned frantically toward Sally.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it. **

At this point, Percy had begun to hyperventilate. He buried his face in Annabeth's arm, shivering violently.

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover. **

"No…" Percy's muffled voice was flooded with fear. "No. No. No."

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!" **

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air. **

Percy's heavy breathing quickened, and his terrified chanting grew slightly louder. "No. No. No. No. No…"

**"Mom!" **

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!" **

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... Gone. **

"NO!" Percy and Poseidon shrieked. A rumbling shook the throne room, and the water feature exploded. The earthquake grew, shattering the windows, and the Gods fell out of their seats. Annabeth and the other demigods toppled backwards, and Sally and Rachel crashed into the wall.

"Poseidon!" Zeus called. "Stop this!"

"It's not me! It's Percy!"

The gods' jaws dropped, and they turned to watch the shaking boy, now so vulnerable, cause as much damage as his father could. Jason, Leo, and Piper gawked at how powerful Percy already was at eight, when the Percy that they were waiting to meet was _twice_ that age.

The destruction grew stronger and stronger, enticing fear in all those who weren't immortal. Finally, Annabeth stumbled over to Percy and pulled him into her. She whispered urgently in his ear, and, gradually, the rumbling and the explosions died down. When everything stilled, Percy's fists clenched Annabeth's shirt, and he began to cry.

As an eight-year old, it was to be expected. Annabeth couldn't blame him for being terrified of the damage he'd caused. Even _her_ Percy was wary of his own powers.

Sally hurried over and, when Annabeth finished repeating her message, Sally pulled Percy into her arms, and his cries died down to shivers. Annabeth gave her message to Poseidon, and they all settled back down.

Zeus glanced from the shivering Percy to Annabeth's tear-stained shirt, almost in awe. "What did you tell him?"

"The only thing I _can_ tell any of you: that Sally is alive and well in our time." Poseidon nodded gratefully, and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Annabeth's shirt dried, and she motioned for Chiron to continue.

**"No!" **

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs-the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons. **

"Cue Ass-kicking Percy!" Conner cheered. Percy gave a small, muffled chuckle, and he stopped shivering. He sat back up, and Annabeth ran her fingers comfortingly through his hair.

**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too. **

**I couldn't allow that. **

**I stripped off my red rain jacket. **

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!" **

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists. **

**I had an idea-**

"Fingers crossed it's a _stupid_ idea," Nico muttered. When he noticed Piper's, Leo's and Jason's incredulous looks, he chuckled. "Percy's _good_ ideas never work at all, whereas his _stupid_ ideas work out in the end, though not the way he originally planned it."

**a stupid idea, **

"We're safe!" the Stolls cried.

**but better than no idea at all.**

Jason shrugged. "Touché."

**I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment. **

**But it didn't happen like that. **

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge. **

**Time slowed down. **

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck. **

Silence. It was finally broken by Hazel, who asked. "How did he _do_ that?"

No one had an answer.

**How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out. **

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils. **

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward. **

"Well," Athena muttered. "At least he realizes _that_…"

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off. **

**"Food!" Grover moaned. **

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. **

"Cue _pissed off_ Ass-kicking Percy!" Travis echoed his brother's previous comment.

**I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. **

Ares shook his head, "Not gonna happen, kid. Only _my_ kids can do that."

**The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then-snap! **

The room burst into hysterics at Ares' slack-jawed expression.

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife. **

"So _that's _how that happened," Nico said to himself.

**The monster charged. **

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage. **

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate-not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart. **

**The monster was gone. **

Jason's eyebrows rose. "If he fights like _that_ with _no_ training… I think that he'll do _fine_ at the Roman camp."

Frank chuckled. "You should have seen him during the War Games… He fought like a _Demon_."

Jason grinned. "Can he beat Octavian?"

"He knocked him out with one blow."

Annabeth smiled. "That's Percy for you."

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, **

Hestia nodded approvingly, "He throws his own misery away for the sake of others. I like this boy." The other gods couldn't help smiling. Hestia's opinion of a person was worth a million drachmas.

**so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm-house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover-I wasn't going to let him go. **

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's. **

Hermes turned to Aphrodite, "One of yours?"

Aphrodite giggled and leaned forward. "Maybe."

The gods were too preoccupied with the story, so only Sally, Rachel, Grover, and the demigods noticed Annabeth's face flush a deep crimson at the word "pretty." Percy glanced around at the smirks, and his face turned the same color as Annabeth's.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be." **

"Oh, _is_ he?" Thalia raised an eyebrow and smirked knowingly at Annabeth, who's face turned an even darker shade of red.

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside. " **

For a moment, there was silence amongst the gods. Then, Aphrodite squealed, "He thinks you're pretty!"

Athena eyed Percy warily, and he ducked his head, face red.

Chiron stood up. "May I suggest we take a break?"

Poseidon nodded. "Good idea Chiron."

But before anyone could move, there was a flash of light behind them.

**Next one will be a break chapter, so I will upload a reading chapter after to make up for it.**

**Review! Or I will hunt you down and bribe you with CHOCOLATE!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	6. Break I

**Hey guys!**

**So, as you might know, I was planning on updating this story on Thursdays, but... That would mean that I'd be starting the first couple chapters of The Titan's Curse by next year! So I'm changing it!**

**Mondays and Fridays I'll update the story definitely. And since it usually takes me only a good hour or two of concentration to type up a chapter, I'll also update periodically. That way, I can update whenever I can, but-with the deadlines-I won't put it off for several weeks.**

**Anyways, here's the first of two break chapters. Enjoy!**

**P.S. I'm not Rick Riordan.**

Break I:

**Leo**

I watched as the bright cerulean light shaped into a circle. A note fell out of it. For a moment, no one moved. Finally, Piper stepped forward and picked up the note like it was a bomb. She scanned it once, then began to read.

_Dear readers,_

_We have noticed that you have several questions, so we have created this viewing screen. It will answer whatever question you ask. Within reason, of course._

_Also, we have decided to be honest with you. First, this is purely for our entertainment. All of it. In fact, in our time, you are currently being viewed on Hephaestus TV. Second, the name: "Rick Riordan," is just a pseudonym. If you want to know the _real_ writer, you will have to ask._

_After this, the screen will only function during breakfasts and emergencies. Thank you._

_-Hermes, Phoebus Apollo, and the Fates._

For a little while, there was silence, as Piper's words still echoed around the room. Finally, it was Athena who spoke up.

"So," she asked, stretching out the 'o' for longer than necessary. "Who is Rick Riordan really?"

Instantly, the screen began to glow brighter, and the colors swirled until an image appeared on the screen.

_It was the Poseidon cabin. Laying on the floor was a small boy, about twelve, with messy black hair. He was staring up at the ceiling._

Annabeth gasped. "Percy!"

_Percy didn't move, and after a couple of seconds, the air seemed to shift above him. He sat up, staring at the spot, until a thick package fell from the shift and hit him in the face, sending him toppling back to the floor with a grunt._

The group laughed at that.

_Groaning, he sat up, and the package fell into his lap. He eyed it warily, but opened it anyways. Inside was a sea blue binder, a black laptop, a printer, stacks of three-hole paper, and a note, which he read aloud to himself._

_**Hello Percy Jackson,**_

_**The gods and the muses are interested in your story, and wish to write it down for Olympus to read. But, since the muses do not know what goes on in your mind, they cannot do it. Therefore, we want you to. We can guess that you do not wish to explain your thoughts, but only the gods will see it, and you cannot refuse an order from the gods.**_

_**Do not worry about spelling. The keys are in Ancient Greek.**_

_**Thank you.**_

_**The gods**_

_Percy read it again, then sighed and muttered, "Fine."_

_He set most of the stuff under his bunk, then sat cross-legged on the mattress and booted up the laptop. His fingers hovered over the keys for a moment, before he shook his head dejectedly and typed out,_

_**Look, I didn't want to be a halfblood.**_

_The image swirled and changed. This time, Percy was in the same spot, but he was sixteen, and had multiple more scars across his arms and legs. He typed for a few seconds, then let out a breath of air. "Finally. Done."_

_He printed out the papers, put them in the binder, along with a drawing that Rachel had obviously made that he pulled out of his desk drawer, then put the binder in a cardboard box. He filled out a slip, tossed a few drachmas in a pouch on the side, and it disappeared with a _cha-ching_._

The image swirled and vanished. Athena's mouth hung open. "But… there's no _way_ a son of that _Barnacle Beard _could write that well!"

"Well," Annabeth piped up. "Considering Sally wants to be a writer, he could have inherited the skills from her…"

Aphrodite waved it away. "Whatever. It's _my_ turn for a question." She cleared her throat and spoke loud and clear.

"When did Percy first realize that he liked Annabeth?"

The image swirled again.

_The scene showed Grover, Mr. D, Chiron, twelve-year old Percy, and twelve-year old Annabeth standing and sitting around the pinochle table. Chiron was speaking to Annabeth, and she turned to a curious-looking Percy. After a few seconds of studying him, she said something they couldn't hear, and raced away, her blonde hair flying behind her._

"Wait," Grover muttered suspiciously. "This is when they _met_!"

Aphrodite squealed, and Annabeth blushed.

_Percy leaned around his chair, trying to see her better as she ran down the field. His expression held curiosity and fascination._

_Abruptly, the image vanished to be replaced by a new one. Percy and Grover were sitting on the dock by the lake, dangling their feet (or in Grover's case, hooves) in the water._

"_Seriously, Perce," Grover shook his head in frustration. "Just admit that you like Annabeth."_

_Percy scowled at Grover. "First: I've only known her for a month. Second: what makes you think I like her?"_

_Grover chuckled. "Your emotions turn into a jumbled mess when she's around. And as much as you'd like to think that you argue with her to annoy her, I can tell that you're actually _flirting_ with her."_

Aphrodite squealed again.

_Percy's face flushed._

As did Annabeth's.

_Percy sighed. "Grover, I'm an average twelve-year old guy. I get crushes. But," he added when Grover looked triumphant, "they never last longer than a few months. This'll be the same. You don't start liking someone after knowing them for a month."_

_Grover opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Annabeth's voice, "Percy!"_

_The two of them turned around to see Annabeth heading in their direction. She stopped within six feet of them. Grover chuckled when he saw how Percy was smiling unconsciously._

_Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Luke's off gods know where, and Clarisse is crashed out on her bunk. I need a sparring partner. You up for it?"_

_Percy stood up and smirked, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "You sure you're willing to lose?"_

"_Bring it on, Seaweed Brain."_

_She took off towards the training hollow, and Percy sprinted after her._

_When they were gone, a Naiad burst out of the lake and rested her forearms on the dock next to Grover. She laughed. "Passing crush, my butt."_

_Grover nodded in agreement._

_The naiad studied the spot where Percy and Annabeth had vanished. "A son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena?"_

_Grover shrugged. "It's a match made in Hades, but it seems to fit." He smiled sadly at the same spot. "Percy _definitely _likes Annabeth… and Annabeth…" He sighed and continued. "I haven't seen her that carefree since Thalia died."_

Annabeth flushed again., and Grover nodded in confirmation.

_The naiad nodded in agreement. "All of us in the sea are praying that this will put an end to Poseidon's and Athena's feud."_

_Grover smiled. "Hopefully."_

_The image changed a final time, and it showed a gymnasium with partying middle schoolers._

Nico gasped. "That's Westover Hall!"

_The image zoomed in on Thalia, Grover, Percy, and Annabeth. The only thing that could be made out was Thalia saying, "Act natural," and dragging Grover off to dance._

_Percy's expression clearly said what he was thinking. _When you're a demigod on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural?_ He scanned the party, and his gaze froze on Annabeth._

_She pulled her ski cap off, and her long blonde hair tumbled down around her shoulders. Percy's previous expression disappeared as his eyes widened and he stared at Annabeth in almost _awe_. Anyone could see from his eyes that he didn't actually believe his story about it being a passing crush. In fact, he looked like he was having a hard time thinking straight at _all.

The image vanished and returned to normal.

Piper didn't even hesitate. "Why didn't Percy forget Annabeth?"

This time, a message appeared on the screen. _"The answer spoils too much at this time. Try again after more has been revealed." _**(A.N. You will eventually learn what it is, though it's just my own theory on the matter.)**

We pursed our lips, trying to decide on any more questions. Before we could think of any, a voice sounded out from behind us.

"Thalia?"

**So, about the random mysterious people from behind.**

**This will be pretty much the last until book two. But if you have any ideas for someone who can come in in this book, please tell me in a review!**

**On one condition: No Percys. I already know exactly which chapter each Percy will come in, and exactly what they will say. Percy's covered.**

**Did I forget anything? Umm... Oh, right!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	7. Break II

**I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry!**

**Things have been extremely busy and… kinda downhill for me lately.**

**Not only has my mom been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, but I've been trying to drown my worry in the same way I always do: writing and volunteering.**

**Volunteering has been what I've been doing for the past several weeks, along with a huge essay in English.**

**And guess what? For the essay, we were supposed to write a creative writing paper on INJUSTICE. So, I rewrote I'm In Love with My Best Friend with different character names and physical characteristics!**

**I showed my teacher what I have so far, along with the half of the epilogue that I have written, and she told me it's good enough to publish!**

**This could get me out of my funk and back on top of updating! So? Should I do it?**

**Again. SORRY!**

**Disclaimer: *sarcastically* I own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I also own Olympus, and New York, and that rock over there… (Get the picture?)**

Break II:

**Piper**

I stared at the miniature version of Annabeth as she raced forward and hugged Thalia tightly.

"How are you alive?" she squealed. What?

"Um…" Thalia glanced nervously around her. "Long story. I'll tell you later, okay?"

Annabeth nodded. Then, she seemed to notice her surroundings, and quickly bowed to the gods.

Our-Annabeth smiled and stepped forward. Other-Annabeth stared up at her older self in shock.

Our-Annabeth quickly explained what was going on. At the end, Other-Annabeth sat up excitedly.

"Do we ever become an architect?" she asked. "Do we go on a date with Luke? Do—"

"It'll all be explained later," Older-Annabeth interrupted. "But, in answer to what you just asked: yes, and no. You'll get a different boyfriend that you like much better than Luke."

Other-Annabeth blinked in surprise. "Better than Luke? Who?"

"Well, the him from your time is right here." Older-Annabeth gestured to Percy. "This is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

Percy gave Older-Annabeth a funny look. "I have to say this is one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had. And, judging by my life, that's pretty big."

"How is it weird?"

"Well, I suddenly show up at the palace of a bunch of gods who tell me that one of them is my dad. Then, the girl who happens to be my girlfriend from eight years from now calls me 'Son of Poseidon,' and introduces me to an eight-year old version of her. You've got to admit, that's kind of weird."

Older-Annabeth thought for a second. "Touché."

"Wait, hold up!" Other-Annabeth wrinkled her nose at Percy like he was a moldy piece of meat. "I'm going to date a son of _Poseidon_? But his dad is my mom's enemy!"

Older-Annabeth sighed. "Percy once told me, and I quote, 'I judge a person by their _actions_, not by something that happened thousands of years before I was born.' You ought to listen to _that_, instead of your pride." Other-Annabeth flushed.

"Um… Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"Yes?" answered both, though one answered rudely.

Percy glanced between them, frustrated at the name dilemma.

"Here," Apollo spoke up. "How about we call the eight-year old Annabeth, 'Annie,' for now."

"But—" Annie protested, then shut her mouth. She obviously knew better than to argue with a god.

"Okay." Percy raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm still asking _Annabeth_ then."

Annabeth turned to face him, "Yeah?"

"Um… no offense to… uh, _Annie,_ but… were you always this annoying?"

Annie glared at him, but Annabeth just laughed. "I mellowed with age."

"Partially," Nico and Thalia coughed into their fists. Both Annabeths turned to glare at them.

"Um…" Leo raised a hand. "Quick question. Why do Athena and Poseidon hate each other so much?"

Annie snorted, "How many reasons do you want? My mother caught Poseidon—" She was cut off by the movie screen glowing and swirling into an image.

_**(A.N. This is a scene I made up completely on my own suspicions.)**_

_Six figures lay asleep in a clearing around a campfire, with one figure sitting on the hard earth, hugging their knees to their chest. In the firelight, a passerby would just barely be able to pick out raven-black hair and sea green eyes fixed on the stars._

Annabeth sucked in her breath. "Percy." Annie glanced over at the Percy here, but said nothing.

_One figure stirred and sat up, rubbing sleep out of their eyes._

"Piper," Leo confirmed. I ignored the eyes on me.

_Piper turned to watch Percy for several minutes. Finally, he said without turning around, "You should be sleeping."_

_She shrugged, "Can't."_

_He let out a breathy, half-hearted laugh. "Me neither."_

_She stared down at the figure lying next to Percy. "She was worried sick about you, you know."_

With a jolt, we recognized Annabeth.

_Percy tore his gaze from the sky to look down at his sleeping girlfriend. Gently, he reached out and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I'm not surprised."_

_Piper raised an eyebrow, "Full of yourself much?"_

_Percy chuckled. "Okay. That didn't come out right. I didn't mean it that way."_

"_Then what _did_ you mean?"_

_Percy smiled softly down at the sleeping figure. "She hates it when things are temporary. She hates it when her friends leave her, even if it's because they have to. Why do you think she wants to be an Architect?"_

Athena turned to Annabeth. "Is that true?"

Annabeth sighed and nodded, as did Annie.

_Piper didn't answer for a while. "To build a monument that'll last a thousand years."_

_Percy nodded._

_Piper was silent for several more minutes. Percy waited patiently for her to speak, calmly stroking Annabeth's curly blonde curtain of messy hair._

_When Piper finally spoke, she asked, "Why do your parents hate each other?"_

_Percy paused for a moment, then he sighed. "There are a lot of suspicions, actually. One is that when Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron of Athens, and Athena won, Poseidon was irritable, and he has been ever since. But I don't believe that. My dad isn't exactly the 'holding grudges' type. That's Hades' job."_

Athena blinked in surprise. Poseidon shifted uncomfortably.

Hades just huffed at the insulting joke.

_Piper laughed quietly in an attempt to not wake anyone up. "Good point."_

"_Another reason," Percy continued with a small smile," is when Athena caught Poseidon and his girlfriend, Medusa in their temple, which is really disrespectful. But Athena is the wisdom goddess for a reason. I'm sure she realized when it's a tactical disadvantage to hate for such a pointless reason. She has to know when it's time to forgive and forget."_

Now, it was Athena's turn to blush.

_Piper looked thoughtful for a second. "You just diffused the two biggest reasons for the longest rivalry in history."_

_Percy shrugged._

"_So," Piper asked, "what's _your_ suspicion?"_

_Percy pursed his lips. "You know all those elemental mythologies? The ones that pair the four main elements up with a specific characteristic?"_

"_Yeah. Though I can never remember the actual characteristics."_

_Percy nodded. He listed off on his fingers as he spoke. "Zeus is the god of the sky, which is obviously the element, air. Air is whimsical and dramatic, and is everywhere at once."_

"Dramatic?" Poseidon snorted. "Sounds like Zeus to me."

Thunder shook the building.

"Case and point," Athena agreed with a chuckle.

"_Demeter is the goddess of the harvest," Percy continued, "which has to be the earth. Earth is strong, stable, and generally very responsible."_

"Sounds like Katie to me," Travis said with a grin. Katie punched him in the arm.

"_But what about fire?" Piper asked. "Hephaestus is the god of fire, and fire stands for anger, right? Leo doesn't have a bad temper. In fact, that sounds more like Ares to me."_

_Percy shook his head. "A lot of people seem to think that fire is anger, because they can only see it as the cause of destruction."_

Leo stood up straight. "That sounds like the Hephaestus cabin and their suspicions against fire-users."

"_But it's not," Percy continued with a glance over at a short Latino sleeping kid wearing a tool belt. "Fire is more like Hephaestus or Hestia. It's life. Warmth. Creation. Fire is humor, and it never gives up on anything."_

Hestia and Hephaestus smiled, and Leo grinned.

_Piper smiled. "Now _that_ sounds like Leo."_

Leo and I blushed.

"_And what about water?" Piper asked. "That's Poseidon, right?"_

_Percy nodded. "I only agree with part of this, because I don't think of myself that way, but… Water is emotion and imagination. It's daydreaming, loyalty, and compassion."_

_Piper smiled. "Actually, that sounds a _lot_ like you."_

Percy flushed, and the others nodded in agreement.

_Percy flushed, though it was hard to tell in the firelight._

"_So," Piper continued. "How does that tie in to the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena?"_

"_Simple. Athena is the physical embodiment of the mind, and Poseidon of emotion. Mind versus emotion. Two opposing forces. Do you get it?"_

There was nothing but silence around the screen. It was that easy? Why didn't they see it before.

"I guess," Athena said slowly, "that we've figured that the other reasons were the obvious ones for so long, that we never considered that there might be a better reason. We all had chosen sides, so we all just assumed that the reason that was against the side we were against was the real reason…"

"That sounds about right," Annabeth agreed.

_Piper nodded with a smile. "I get it."_

_Percy returned the smile._

"_So, Percy…" Piper glanced between him and Annabeth's sleeping form. "If your parents are two opposing forces, then why do you like Annabeth so much?"_

_Percy chuckled, and stared down at Annabeth in a way that any girl would want to be looked at. "Because—as much of an annoying know-it-all as she is—she's not completely Athena's smart-aleck daughter. She refuses to take the easy way out, even if it means getting in serious trouble, and she's saved my butt hundreds of times. She's one of the few people I know who can actually put up with my stupid remarks, and she actually laughs at some of them. But… most of all: she's intelligent, definitely beautiful, and she's a good person to watch your back." He bent down and touched his lips lightly to Annabeth's hair. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly muffled, and his breath moved Annabeth's blonde curls slightly._

"_I'd trust her with my life."_

The image faded, Aphrodite's squealing still echoing around the room. Both Annabeths were blushing profusely, as was Percy.

"So…" Annabeth shifted uncomfortably, desperate to change the subject. "Um… Can we continue the book now?"

Annie and Percy nodded frantically in agreement.

After a bit of arguing, the group settled down around the Hearth again, though this time the order went: Sally, Annabeth, Percy, Annie, Thalia.

Sally picked up the book and read, "**I Play Pinochle with a Horse**"

**Okay. So since I haven't been updating lately, I will update this story again between today and tomorrow.**

**By the way: Awesome story! I was volunteering at a spring away camp last weekend up until yesterday, and I did canoeing at one point. After I won the canoeing races with me and a six-year old versus a bunch of threesome canoes filled with middle schoolers, one girl told me that I'm like a real life PERCY JACKSON! That's Awesome!**

**But I also won the archery competition, so I guess that throws out that idea. Oh well. I've loved archery and canoeing since before I knew that the PJO series existed, so… I guess I'm just awesome that way.**

**REVIEW! POR FAVOR!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	8. Playing Pinochle with a Horse

**HEY GUYS!**

**Next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Pick up the closest Percy Jackson book to you. Now look at the cover. You see there at the bottom where it has the author's name in fancy script? Now, does that say: AtlantaJackson95? No? Good.**

Chapter Five: I Play Pinochle with a Horse:

"**I Play Pinochle with a Horse**"

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food. **

Percy snickered. "And I thought my dreams were weird _now._"

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding.**

"Mmm," Apollo licked his lips. "Ambrosia."

Percy looked confused. "Ambrosia?"

**The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

Aphrodite squealed. "Percy's going to fall in love with his _nurse_? It's like a soap opera!"

Percy and the Annabeths didn't look too happy about that comparison.

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

**I managed to croak, "What?"**

"Annabeth…" Thalia turned to look at her friend in amusement. "What made you think he knew something…? He was brand new to the camp."

Annabeth blushed. "He mentioned something about the summer solstice deadline in his sleep..."

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would over-hear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't... "**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

Nico chuckled. "That's _one_ way to shut him up…"

"And the _other_," Thalia smirked at Annabeth, "if I remember correctly, is to _kiss_ him. Right, Annabeth?"

Annabeth flushed, and Annie gagged.

Percy looked a little conflicted. On the one hand, he would kiss Annabeth in the future, which made him blush. On the other hand, she was the annoying Annie at his current age. The thought of kissing her made his stomach churn.

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone. **

**A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes—at least a dozen of them—on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

Several people winced in sympathy.

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. **

**My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

Annabeth looked a little worried, and slid Percy closer. He flushed, and Annie glared at the two of them along with Athena.

**"Careful," a familiar voice said. **

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy. **

Grover groaned at 'Goat Boy.' "Not you too!"

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry?"

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And... **

Percy looked across Annabeth at his mom, as if to make sure that she was still there. He sighed, not liking the thought that he would think that she was dead.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... Well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this. "**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap. **

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

**"The Minotaur," I said. **

Athena eyed Percy critically. "You shouldn't use their names, Perseus."

Percy flinched at the use of his full name. "My guess… I was seriously confused. I wanted a straight answer for once."

**"Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull. "**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**He looked down. **

Percy swallowed and double-checked on his mom again.

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight. **

Thalia huffed. "_Even_ that looked beautiful! What do you mean by that?"

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful. **

Thalia winced in apology.

"Dang, Perce," Will chuckled. "You certainly can be deep."

Percy shrugged. "When I want to be."

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world. "**

"No you're not," came the reply from every demigod, even Percy.

Grover smiled.

**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole. **

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled. **

"Um…" Percy glanced over at Annie. "Does that mean, 'Oh shit'?"

Annie blinked in surprise at him addressing her, but nodded. "Pretty much."

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky. **

Percy raised an eyebrow at Zeus. "You certainly find fault in the _tiniest_ things…"

The others laughed at Zeus' indignant expression.

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it. **

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.**

"Oh, I wouldn't do that," Dionysus yawned. "They really hate that."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't actually _do_ it…"

**But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even Minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light. **

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe? **

"Never," Poseidon snarled.

"By the way," Athena piped up, "I've been meaning to ask this but… did he really hit you?"

Percy was silent.

"Percy…" Sally warned. "Did Gabe hit you?"

Percy rubbed his lips together apprehensively, before speaking in a voice so soft that even the Annabeths had to strain to hear.

"Yes…"

There was a deep rumbling, but with a look from Percy, Poseidon took a deep breath and calmed down.

"I'm still going to kill him," the sea god muttered.

**No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army.**

"Seventeen?" Annie laughed. "You barely look _eight_ right now, you're so weak!"

Percy stuck his tongue out at her, and—surprisingly—she giggled.

Thalia, Nico, Grover, Rachel, Annabeth, Sally, and Aphrodite eyed them with smirks plastered on their expressions. Piper, Jason, and Leo stared at Annie like they couldn't believe that either Annabeth could act like a normal person; probably only when Percy was _around_ instead of MIA. Hazel and Frank smiled, realizing that there was much more to their new friend than just a powerful—and slightly goofy—demigod that was smarter than he looked.

Athena just glared at Percy.

**I'd do something. **

"Like go to Camp HalfBlood for instance?" Travis asked innocently.

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—looked as if he expected to be hit. **

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you. "**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

**"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming. **

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips. **

**I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice.**

"Let me guess," Percy called out. "It doesn't taste like apple juice."

"Congratulations, Perce," Thalia joked. "You're learning!"

Percy just scowled in annoyance. Annie laughed.

**It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies-my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay. **

Aphrodite cooed, and Sally and Percy exchanged small smiles.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

"Yeah," Leo said in confusion. "I don't get that either."

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded. **

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty. **

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

"Why do you apologize for everything?" Annie asked. "It's not like every single event that happens around you is your fault!"

Percy shrugged. "I'm responsible for my own actions."

Hermes sighed. "Another potential prankster, brought down by his mother before he could do anything…"

Thalia chuckled. "Annie, Percy will get better over time. I wouldn't worry."

Annie didn't answer. She and Percy studied each other as Sally continued.

Annie was surprised that Percy wasn't like she had expected of a son of Poseidon. He wasn't arrogant, or full of himself. Quite the opposite, actually. He was pretty defiant, but in a good way. And everything he did was for others instead of his own gain.

Percy was surprised as well. Annie was a little annoying, but at least Annabeth was proof that she mellowed with age. She wasn't a know-it-all, but was still extremely intelligent, like the older version of him had said in that video. And he definitely had to agree with himself that she was pretty.

Hmm…

The others watched them as well, mostly with amusement. (Apart from Athena, of course.)

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... Wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home-made."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Is that good?" Conner asked.

"For Percy?" Travis answered. "Yes. For Nancy? Not so much."

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."**

**"What do you mean?"**

Percy looked like he wanted to ask the same question. Annie leaned over and whispered so only he could hear, "It's Nectar, food of the gods. If you or I was to drink too much, we'd burn up. Literally."

Percy nodded. "Thanks," he whispered back.

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go. **

Several gods nodded their approval.

"Percy's stubborn," Artemis mused aloud. "But so far it's been in a good way."

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath. **

The Greek demigods smiled, remembering their own first glimpses of camp.

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. **

Artemis, Poseidon, and Grover smiled, imagining the natural beauty of the water.

**Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-**

"That's because it _is_ Ancient Greek Architecture," the Annabeths confirmed.

**an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings. **

"Nope," Thalia joked. "No magic mushrooms around here!"

The others snickered at Chiron's, Sally's, Percy's, and Annie's confused expressions.

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them. **

"And exactly _why_ are you there, Annabeth?" Aphrodite asked with a smirk.

"Not for the reason I'm thinking, I hope," Athena grumbled.

Annabeth blushed. Annie's face turned slightly pink, but she still scowled.

Percy just raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."

**The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. **

Dionysus looked up in surprise. All other gods tried to hide their snickering.

**He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.**

Dionysus turned his gaze on Percy; the purple flame in his eyes grew slightly brighter. Percy squeaked and hid behind Annie. Poseidon glared at Dionysus, and the flames dimmed.

Annabeth pursed her lips. She was happy that Percy was okay with her younger self, but she still felt a minor flash of jealousy. She couldn't help it. She was too territorial of her boyfriend, even _if_ he was only eight.

**He wore a tiger- pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step-father.**

"You're damn right I could," Dionysus growled.

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me. **

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard. **

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried. **

"He just called him Chiron!" Athena called in exasperation.

Percy shrugged, still hiding behind Annie.

"If Percy knew Chiron for a year as Mr. Brunner," Annabeth said, "then psychology would cause him to call him that."

Athena sighed. "Fine. At least get out from behind my daughter."

Percy slid back to his original position, muttering an apology towards Annie. She waved it away, indicating that she didn't mind.

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B. **

"Why would you do that?" Demeter asked Chiron.

"Because," Athena answered for the centaur. "If all the answers are B, then a student would start to get suspicious at the validity of his answers, and double-check them."

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you. "**

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr. **

The demigods tried to hide their snickers. The gods didn't try as hard.

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl. **

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

Aphrodite leaned forward. "I'm curious as to how Percy will describe Annabeth."

"Me too," the Annabeths agreed, eyeing Percy. He shifted nervously.

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking.**

"I'd been training every day since I was seven," Annie said. "Of course, I'd be athletic."

"And how was I supposed to know that?" Percy countered. She shrugged.

**With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.**

"Excuse me?" the Annabeths asked.

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Annie complained.

Percy frowned and leaned forward, staring at her eyes for a moment, before leaning back and saying, "They just don't fit the image of a stereotypical California girl. They're pretty, but really intimidating."

Annie, who had been slightly pink throughout all of this, now full on blushed. "Pretty?"

Percy turned red. "I'm not saying it again."

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight. **

Annabeth smirked. "And it _so_ would have worked."

**She glanced at the Minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, _You killed a Minotaur!_ or _Wow, you're so awesome!_ or something like that.**

"I was considering it," Annabeth admitted. "But I didn't want to make him arrogant on his first day."

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

Laughter echoed around the room. Several gods (*cough* Hermes *cough* Apollo *cough*) fell out of their chairs.

Annabeth flushed. "Oops."

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her. **

"Someone's got a _crush_." Aphrodite grinned. Percy and the Annabeths flushed.

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... Does that stand for something?"**

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

"Um… sorry?"

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

"What is he, a doctor?" Leo snickered.

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... Ah, take a leave of absence."**

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

Apollo grinned at Chiron. "What happened?"

Chiron shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Apollo pouted.

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked. **

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?" **

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt. **

"Do you know _now_?" Dionysus asked warningly. Percy nodded, not fazed by the glare.

Annie rolled her eyes. Percy's recklessness would get him killed someday.

**"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously. **

**"I'm afraid not," I said. **

**"I'm afraid not, sir," he said. **

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less. **

"I feel you, dude," Apollo covered his hands over his heart. Percy suddenly looked uncomfortable, and scooted closer to Annie, away from Apollo.

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said. **

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. **

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer. **

"He gives that look to everyone," Annabeth said with a smile directed at her favorite teacher. Chiron returned the smile.

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her. "**

"Typical," Dionysus yawned. "That's how they usually get killed."

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked. **

"Bid!" Dionysus yelled impatiently. "Don't you know how to play Pinochle?"

"No."

"No, _sir._"

"No, _sir_." Percy repeated, making a face.

Dionysus started to get up out of his chair, but a blast of water from Poseidon's direction stopped him.

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did. **

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient. "**

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

"You didn't see the orientation film?" Annabeth asked in surprise. "Well, _no wonder_ I thought you were so clueless! No one had told you anything!"

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"—he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive."**

**I stared at the others around the table. **

**I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points. **

Aphrodite rolled her mascara-coated eyes. "Can't you be a bit more sympathetic to the boy, Dionysus?"

"No," he answered honestly.

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right. "**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully. **

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God—capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter. "**

"Smaller?" Zeus thundered. Chiron shifted uncomfortably.

**"Smaller?"**

Zeus wasn't exactly in the best mood for teasing, though there were a few snickers.

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

**And there it was again—distant thunder on a cloud-less day.**

**"Young man, " said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you. "**

"Well…" Annabeth mused. "Since only one of them actually likes him anyways, I don't think that this one really matters."

"Which one likes me?" Percy asked.

"Apollo."

Annie sighed. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days."

Percy shrugged. "If we're going to be forced into spending as much time together as I assume we will, you're probably going to get me out of those situations, so I'm not worried."

Annabeth flushed at his theory's accuracy. Annie flushed at the obvious compliment.

Athena just scowled.

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're-myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science. "**

"Uh-oh," Poseidon sighed. "That'll get him going…"

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"—I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody—"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals-they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... He wasn't.**

Annie rolled her eyes. "That's because he _is_ Seaweed Brain."

Percy was about to retort that he didn't know that, but he was cut off by a collective gasp. The two of them turned to see the older Greeks staring at them in shock.

"W-what did you call him?" Annabeth stammered.

"Um… Seaweed Brain?"

Annabeth stared at them, before sighing and shaking her head, gesturing for Sally to continue.

**It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut. **

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal,**

"He was?" Thalia whispered. "I guess immortality _does_ appeal to him."

"Which means that there's only _one reason_ why he turned it down," Nico snickered, eyeing Annabeth. The daughter of Athena blushed.

**but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate. **

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said. **

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some-day people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him.**

Athena nodded approvingly.

**I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe. '"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine. **

"Well _that'll_ give him the shock of his life," Annie chuckled.

"Oh, shut up…"

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up. **

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

"Yeah," Zeus muttered. "_Old habits_…" Dionysus shifted in his throne.

**More thunder. **

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space. **

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence, ' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down. ' Ha. Absolutely unfair."**

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid. **

"That's actually a fairly accurate description," Athena laughed along with the other gods.

**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

**"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course. "**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master. **

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine. "**

"Ding ding ding!" Travis cheered. "Give the boy a prize!"

"Katie," Percy said. "If you please…"

"Gladly." Katie smacked Travis upside the head.

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?" **

"Yes," Percy muttered sarcastically. "Yes I did."

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

"We had trouble believing it too," Apollo snickered along with the rest of the deities.

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life. **

"He _better_ not," Poseidon muttered, glaring at Dionysus, who shifted nervously.

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly. **

**"No. No, sir. "**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

"As usual," Dionysus sighed.

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too. **

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

"What do you mean 'less than perfect'?" Percy yelled. "He got me there didn't he?"

"He was unconscious!"

"And that is his fault because…"

Those that knew Percy the best brushed this off, but the others were absolutely shocked at how such a small boy could defy a _god_. Dionysus just sat on his chair, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. They watched the son of Poseidon with new eyes as he sighed wearily and motioned for his mother to continue.

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners." **

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably. **

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

Percy glared at Dionysus.

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... Ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus. "**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do. "**

Percy frowned in confusion. "This part's going to make my head hurt. I just know it…"

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... In America?"**

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West. "**

"The what?" Percy asked.

**"The what?"**

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization. ' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps—Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on—but the same forces, the same gods. "**

**"And then they died."**

Annie rolled her eyes. "One of them was standing _right in front of you_!"

"Hey," Percy protested. "Don't blame me! Just because you're such a _wise girl_ doesn't mean that we _all_ are!"

This gasp was slightly smaller, but it could still be heard. Percy and Annie turned to Annabeth, who waved it away and nodded for Sally to continue.

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not—and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either—America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here. "**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's _we_, as if I were part of some club.**

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... Who am I?"**

"A great friend and confidante," Grover answered.

"A heck of a fighter," Clarisse said.

"The best swordsman in three hundred years," Travis called.

"A cool pranking partner," Connor added.

"The most loyal, reckless, brave, selfless, defiant, and noble boy we've ever known," Rachel smiled at the book.

Annabeth ran her fingers through Percy's hair. "And we all love you for it."

Aphrodite squealed, and Percy blushed. Annie permitted herself to let out a small smile.

Athena watched all this thoughtfully. _If he's really loved that much, then maybe he _can_ date my daughter._ But she didn't voice this out loud. She'd never hear the end of it.

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down. **

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate. "**

"Adore is kind of an understatement, Chiron," Annabeth laughed.

Chiron flushed and smiled sheepishly.

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached. **

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk. **

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

Annie snickered, picturing Percy's reaction to that.

"So who wants to read?" Sally asked, holding up the book.

"I will," called a voice from behind.

**Don't worry. This will be the last newcomer for a while.**

**REVIEW! It makes me write faster!**

**Thanks!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	9. Becoming Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

**I'm back peoples!**

**YEAH!**

**OH MY GODS! 11,603 words! SWEET!  
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**Does this make up for the whole 'disappearing for a while' thing? Are we good? If not I am SOOOO sorry!  
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**Disclaimer: If I didn't own PJO last time, what makes you think I own it THIS time?**

**Becoming Supreme Lord of the Bathroom:**

Annabeth felt her face pale.

No.

It couldn't be.

Annie, on the other hand, had an entirely different reaction.

"LUKE!" she squealed. "You're here!"

She grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him over to Luke, much to the dismay of Chiron and the eldest Greek campers.

"Percy, this is Luke Castellan," Annie explained. "He's the leader of the Hermes cabin. Luke, this is Percy Jackson, a future camper, and—" She cut off, suddenly realizing why Percy was bright red, and dropped his hand.

"Dad?" Annabeth stepped towards the sandy-haired man in the aviator's helmet.

"Annabeth?" he asked, taking off the helmet. "Where am I?"

After some brief explaining, they realized that Luke was from when Annabeth was twelve, and Fredrick was from the same time as the elder demigods.

They talked for a little while, Luke repeatedly asking why the older demigods were so hesitant around him, until they finally sat down in their original positions. Fredrick sat on Sally's other side from Annie, and Luke sat between Annie and Sally.

Luke felt a flash of confusion when he saw her arguing with Percy. Was she _flirting_ with him? Didn't she like _Luke_? He wondered what had possibly happened to the young daughter of Athena. Especially considering her older counterpart had only spoken to him in reply to his questions, and she seemed unfazed by him.

What was going on?

Fredrick took the book, and Luke shook off his feelings of apprehension. Annabeth must have just been shocked to see him. That was all. She had too big of a crush on Luke to just _forget_ about him… right?

**Chapter Six: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom**

Several of the group snickered at the name.

**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

Chiron blushed as the others laughed.

**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's him."**

"That was me!" Travis raised his hand eagerly.

Katie smacked him upside the head. "Sit down!"

**Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something. **

"_Can_ he do a flip?" Apollo asked.

All eyes turned to Percy, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I've never tried," he admitted.

"That doesn't matter," Frank spoke up. "During the War Games at the beginning of the week—when Percy first came—he summersaulted over a line of legionnaires to slam the butt of his sword in Octavian's helmet. If he can summersault over people, I'm assuming he can do a simple flip."

Jason grinned. "He did _what_ to Octavian? Man, I would _love_ to have seen that!"

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched. **

Apollo's jaw dropped. "She _moved_?"

"She also moved during the winter of Percy's third year," Grover spoke up.

All those who had been there shivered.

"Man!" Travis shuddered. "That was _creepy_!"

**"What's up there?" I asked Chiron. **

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

Hermes chuckled half-heartedly, remembering May. "Okay. That's _technically_ true…"

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain. **

**"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

**We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe. **

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead. **

**I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.**

Thalia shrugged, "He's gotten better."

"Hey!"

**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D. **

Grover sighed. "Yes."

**"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... He was a good protector. Really. "**

"Thanks, Perce," Grover couldn't smile at the Percy he knew, so he settled for the one across from him.

Percy nodded in acknowledgement, then went back to arguing quietly with Annie about who was better: Hestia or Artemis. Sally, Annabeth, Thalia, and Rachel looked on in amusement.

"I'm telling you, Seaweed Brain, Artemis is better! She's practically the essence of Feminism!"

Grover chuckled.

"Look, yes I agree that Feminists are right and that women should have just as much power as men. But Hestia is the goddess of the _Hearth_! What's more important than your home, where everyone you care about is?"

"You're saying that _now_, but you're just like other boys. When you see someone in trouble, you won't hesitate to save yourself!"

By this point, _everyone_ was watching them. Artemis and Hestia were blushing, and Luke was scowling at their very obvious argumentative version of flirting.

"Actually," Thalia piped up, "if there's one person on this planet who _would_ rush off at the expense of himself to save someone he didn't know, it would be _Percy_!"

Percy stuck his tongue out at Annie. "Hah! Even _Thalia_ agrees with me!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, Kelp Head?"

"Nothing, Thalia!"

Thalia sat back, grumbling, and motioned for Fredrick to continue.

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

Percy frowned, "But he _did_ that!"

**"But he did that!"**

"Whoa," Leo chuckled. "Déjà vu."

**"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... Ah ... Fate of your mother.**

Everyone around the hearth winced, and Percy and Sally looked stricken.

**And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part. "**

**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble. **

Annie sighed. "When are you _ever_ going to stop blaming yourself for everything?"

Annabeth chuckled at her younger counterpart. "It's second nature for Percy. Don't expect it to happen too soon."

**"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that _was_ Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago.**

"Wait," Leo interrupted. "What happened the first time?"

Thalia sighed. "You'll see."

**Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."**

**"How old is he?"**

**"Oh, twenty-eight."**

"What?" Percy cried. "And he's in sixth grade?"

Grover looked a little miffed at that. "I'm thirty-three, now."

Percy stared at the satyr in confusion. Annie leaned over and whispered something in his ear, and his mouth widened into an 'o' of understanding.

**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."**

**"That's horrible."**

"Definitely." Leo wrinkled his nose.

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."**

Grover scowled. "I'm _not_ just going to give up, Chiron."

Chiron blushed. "Yes, sorry."

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

Hermes turned to his four sons. "Make sure Chiron gets subject-changing lessons."

Conner waved a pocket-book. "We're already on it, Dad!"

Hermes wiped a fake tear. "I'm so proud."

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea-a tiny, hopeful fire-started forming in my mind. **

Sally and Poseidon paled. Athena too, realizing that Annabeth was going on this quest with Percy.

"_Please_ tell me you guys don't go to the Underworld!" Poseidon pleaded to Annabeth.

A gasp rang out around the room.

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Okay. Nobody went to the Underworld."

Sally and Poseidon relaxed, while Grover and Clarisse snickered. _Nobody..._

**"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"**

**Chiron's expression darkened. **

**"Yes, child," He paused, as if choosing his words care-fully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... Until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

"What does he mean, 'until we know more'?" asked Percy.

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods. "**

**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans. **

"Hey!" Piper glared at Percy good naturedly.

Percy smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

Percy looked confused. "Stocked with what? Armed with what?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Even _I _don't blame him for not knowing that, Chiron. How is he supposed to know that the woods are stocked with monsters?"

"What?" Percy squeaked, paling. "Monsters?"

Nico gave him an incredulous look. "You've defeated worse than the giant ants and scorpions that are in there. Why are you afraid?"

"I haven't done that yet!" Percy complained.

Thalia rolled her eyes at Nico. "Duh. Even _I_ knew that, Death Breath."

Nico flushed, but he smirked. "You just called yourself stupid."

Nico shut up after a shock of electricity set his teeth shaking.

**"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

**"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

Again, Chiron shrugged sheepishly.

**"My own-?"**

**"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later. "**

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range,**

"Which Percy shouldn't go near with a hundred-foot pole," Will chuckled, wrinkling his nose at an unpleasant memory.

"Why not?" Frank looked hurt. What was wrong with Archery?

"Let's just say," Katie grimaced, "that children of Poseidon aren't the best shots with a bow and arrow, and leave it at that."

All eyes turned to Poseidon, who shrugged and said, "I can't stand archery. No offense, Apollo, Artemis."

"None taken."

**the canoeing lake,**

"Which Percy could probably spend _hours_ in," Travis chuckled.

"Have you forgotten?" Conner asked his brother. "He _has_ spent hours at the bottom of the canoe lake!"

The older Greeks snickered and glanced over at Percy and Annabeth. Percy, Annie, and Annabeth turned varying shades of red. Luke just scowled.

"What do you mean by that?" Aphrodite asked with interest.

"When they first started dating, we caught them kissing in the mess hall," Katie clarified.

Will snickered. "So we tossed them in the canoe lake," he added.

Clarisse smirked and finished with, "Where they stayed out of our sight for so long that we all just went back to our cabins."

The older Greeks who had been there and _hadn't_ just spoken all snickered again, joined this time by Apollo, Hermes, Leo, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel... and Aphrodite's squealing.

"Wow," Hazel chuckled. "When we were with Percy he was so _serious_ all the time. Who knew he was so _mischievous_?"

"We did," came the chorused reply from everyone who had known Percy before the switch.

"Of course," Frank spoke up, "you can't blame him for being serious. He _did_ just lose nearly every memory of his past."

"Touché," Hazel agreed.

**the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),**

The Stolls snickered at the thought of Chiron sleeping in the stable.

**the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

"Which Percy could beat every camper we have in without breaking a sweat," Thalia chuckled. "Except maybe Annabeth, of course."

"Why Annabeth?" Piper asked.

"Because," Nico answered for Thalia, "Percy knows Annabeth and all of her strategies and weaknesses better than she does herself. The same could be said vice versa."

Rachel nodded, "If Camp HalfBlood was to have a one-on-one tournament, the betting would be split down the middle for Percy or Annabeth to win, and _everyone_—even those fighting against them—would bet for them to reach the finals and duke it out."

Piper went wide eyed, "Wow. I never thought _anyone _could beat Annabeth."

"I bet _I_ could beat him," bet a very jealous Jason.

Thalia sighed, "Sorry, Jas. I know you're my brother and all, but you would _lose _that bet."

"I'll take you on," offered Percy. "Annie taught me how to use a sword in between chapters, so I can _try_. I'm _definitely_ not as good as the Percy you're going to meet when you get back, but I need the practice, right?"

Jason grinned evilly. "You're on."

"We're reading now," Athena interrupted, "so you two can cut each other's throats out during lunch."

They nodded.

Unbeknownst to them, the Stolls started passing around a bidding sheet. _**(A.N. It's YOUR turn! Vote through reviews on who will win! Eight-year old Percy, or fifteen-year old Jason!)**_

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

"Again," Hermes turned to the Stolls, who quickly hid the biding sheet under Conner's butt, "_subject-changing lessons!"_

The Stolls nodded simultaneously.

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"**

Percy still looked confused, and Annie leaned over and explained to him the weather patterns. His expression cleared, and he nodded in thanks.

**I decided to drop the subject.**

**Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.**

The gods perked up, anxious to hear how Percy would describe their cabins.

**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike.**

Percy's interest peaked.

**Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.**

Leo grinned, "Hephaestus cabin rules!"

**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.**

Katie pumped her fist in the air. "Demeter cabin rocks!"

**Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.**

Instead of cheering, Will gave the group a 'rock on' sign.

Apollo clearly didn't think that this was enough, because he stood up and cheered, "APOLLO CABIN IS THE BEST EVER!"

The others laughed, and Artemis yanked Apollo down again.

**They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed). **

Jason's eyes lit up. "He plays basketball?" Finally! Something to relate to!

"Yup!" Will answered. "If you don't include the Apollo cabin and the satyrs who've had _years_ of practice, Percy's probably one of the best basketball players in camp!"

Leo's eyes widened in admiration. Guess who just found his new idol! "Is there anything he _can't_ do?"

Thalia nodded vigorously. "He can't shoot a bow and arrow. He can't blame others for anything that he has the slightest bit to do with. And he can't figure out when a girl's flirting with him."

Annabeth sighed. "That's _so_ trying, sometimes."

Hazel looked confused. "But… at Camp Jupiter… he knew _instantly_ when the Venus girls, the _aurae,_ and the Amazons were trying to flirt with them. At least I assume so, because he either told them he wasn't single, or he sent me or Frank a look that said, _nine-one-one!_"

The group laughed at Percy's second reaction to girls.

Annabeth smirked. "Then he must've gotten better over the past six months, because the last time _I_ saw him he had _no idea_."

Hazel shrugged, "Then again, he was _much smarter_ than this, too. Maybe it's just from being on his own for six months. He learned to spot details more."

Frank shook his head. "Nah. He's been spotting details all over this book so far. He's just learned how to spot flirty girls."

"Actually," Rachel piped up, "Annabeth, you might not have noticed this, but Percy actually started noticing flirty girls _long_ before he disappeared. Specifically… right around when you two started dating. Mostly because hanging out with you helped figure out what to look for."

"Of course," Nico added, "you also can't blame him for not realizing that you liked him earlier. After all, how _you two_ flirted was by arguing."

Thalia, Rachel, and Nico all looked pointedly at Percy and Annie, who had long since forgoed this conversation in favor of arguing about the importance of blue food in a healthy diet. (I don't need to explain who was pro and who was con, right?) The two of them became conscious of the eyes on them, and looked up. Only to start blushing and looking away from each other.

Luke scowled. He'd thought that the arguing meant that they didn't like each other, but… so much for that.

**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

Hestia smiled, "So he saw me?"

Nico nodded. "But he won't stop to talk for another couple years. _Now_, you're his second favorite deity. Right behind his obligation to like his father."

Poseidon flushed, and smiled sheepishly.

"Wait," Aphrodite pouted. "He likes Hestia more than me?"

Annabeth shrugged. "He told me about how you purposefully messed with his love life. In fact, Hestia and Poseidon were the only deities he's talked to that _haven't_ come for personal gain."

The other gods looked down sheepishly.

"_But_," Thalia added, "he told me himself that he doesn't blame—" she began to count on her fingers "—Athena, because she came to help him save her daughter; Hermes, because he came to ask Percy to help Luke; Zeus, because he was worried about his bolt and the future of Olympus; Artemis, because she was trying to find a monster that could potentially destroy Olympus; Dionysus, because he's irritable about being punished; Hades, because he isn't accepted on Olympus, and that would make _anybody_ grumpy; Ares, because he was being told what to do by an all-powerful being from Tartarus; Apollo, because he was trying to help Percy save his sister; Hera, because she was _trying_ to be helpful—keyword: _trying_—Demeter, because when she met him she really didn't _do_ anything to him; Hephaestus, because _Percy_ came to _him_ for help; and Aphrodite, because she eventually helped him date the girl he liked."

"Wait," Athena said, "that's _all_ of us!"

Katie sighed. "The only person that Percy knows how to blame for _anything_ is himself."

Artemis looked shocked. _I always assumed that such a selfless boy could not exist, _she thought._ I cannot believe that I am thinking this, but…_ She turned to look at Annabeth and Annie, who were laughing at one of Percy's signature sarcastic comments. _I do not feel disappointment for the loss of such a valuable maiden._

**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

Annabeth, Thalia, Rachel, Katie, Will, Clarisse, Chris, Nico, Travis, Conner, Grover, Jason, Piper, and Leo glared at the book.

"What?" Hera asked. "What's wrong with my cabin?"

"Well," Leo grumbled, "you were my old babysitter to 'prepare me for the second giant war' or something like that. Then you gave me fake memories that made me think that Jason was my best friend when I actually never knew him. And you stuffed me in a live furnace."

"You kidnapped me from Camp Jupiter with no warning at all," Jason growled.

"You gave me false memories that made me think that Jason and I were dating," Piper snarled.

"You sent intestinally challenged cows after Annabeth," Thalia huffed.

"As for the rest of us," Nico snarled, "you kidnapped the best friend and the most loyal demigod anyone could have, and sent him away to some camp in San Francisco, erasing his memories and keeping your fingers crossed that Romans don't kill him on sight!"

"And," Annabeth practically yelled, her face twisted into a wounded expression that made it look like she was about to cry, "you kidnapped my boyfriend, my best friend, and the only person on this godsforsaken planet that has refused to leave me on several occasions, raced across the _country_ to find me, refused _immortality_ for me, and actually found a way to have _feelings_ for an untrusting know-it-all like me!"

The gods gasped. Hera looked outraged at the disrespect. But Annabeth returned the glare.

Annie glanced over at Percy to find him pale and guilty. She wrapped her arms comfortingly around her new friend's waist—much to the annoyance of Luke—and kissed his cheek when no one else was watching. Percy flushed a bright red, and turned to smile gratefully at Annie. Annie simply nodded, and let him go, though they were sitting closer to each other than they had been before.

**"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty. "**

**"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

"Because no one _should_," Hera muttered. Zeus looked at anything but his queen.

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

**I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

Annabeth blinked. "Wow, Lord Poseidon. It's like you're _calling_ him."

Poseidon smiled and shook his head. "_I_ wasn't calling to him. The _sea_ was."

**It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

Every single elder Greek camper smiled.

"The best cabin in camp," Annabeth said.

Athena looked confused. "What about _your _cabins?"

Annabeth shrugged. "My cabin's where I work on designs. Combine that with my dozens of siblings, and you can't blame me for going to visit Percy."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "And what do you two _do_ when you're in cabin three?"

Annabeth flushed and rolled her eyes. "Being demigods, we're not exactly _intimate_, mom. Most of the time, I just sit in front of him on his bed, leaning against his chest, with him leaning against his headboard and fiddling with a lock of my hair. The only things we really do are chat about the camp news, or sit quietly while I read a book. Honestly, mom. We were at camp for _two weeks_ after we started dating!"

"Of course," Katie muttered, "_after_ they were dating for the four months before winter break, you couldn't keep them _apart_ for very long…"

Annabeth, Annie, and Percy blushed, while the others snickered madly.

Frank and Hazel chuckled at their new friend's previous antics.

Thalia chuckled. "As for me… no offense dad, but you're cabin is gloomy, and your statue's creepy."

The Stolls added, "Our cabin is filled with too many spies for future pranks. We made a deal with Percy: no pranking him, and we can plan other pranks in his cabin. Oath on the River Styx."

"And the rest of us just think that Percy's cabin is awesome to hang out in," Will finished.

Artemis blinked. "He let's _all_ of you hang out in his cabin?"

Katie shrugged. "He told me that it's lonely being an only child sometimes. But he doesn't mind, because it means that his dad's being faithful."

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

**Number five was bright red-a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.**

Clarisse smirked. "It _had_."

**The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen.**

"Clarisse," several bored voices muttered.

**She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red. **

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed. **

"PARTY PONIES RULE!" cried Apollo, Dionysus, and the Stolls.

**"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really..."**

**He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

**"But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

"Wow, Percy," Piper shook her head. "He's blunt, isn't he?"

Thalia sighed. "You have _no_ idea."

**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... And I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed. "**

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.**

"Agreed," muttered every demigod except Annie and Annabeth. "Dyslexia sucks."

**"Doesn't it ever get boring?"  
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**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring. "  
>"Why depressing?"<br>Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

**"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

**The blond girl**

"Really?" Annabeth sighed. "Chiron calls me by name, and Percy still describes me as 'the blonde girl'?"

**I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven. **

"HERMES CABIN OWNS YOUR FACES!" Guess who said _that_?

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.**

"No I wasn't!" Annabeth protested.

"Then what _were_ you thinking about?" Rachel asked.

"Um…" Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "I was trying to ignore how cute his eyes were…"

The demigods laughed.

"Although," Hazel put in, "I can't really blame you for that. When I first saw him, I thought he had the good looks of a Roman god."

Annabeth chuckled. "He wasn't _nearly_ as good looking when we met. Mostly because he could barely pass for ten at the time with his physical prowess. But puberty was good to him."

Aphrodite squealed. "What does he look like?"

Frank pulled a photo out of his pocket. "I take pictures of all of my friends. This was from yesterday for us, the day before the Argo II is supposed to show up."

The picture showed a tall guy about sixteen, talking to Hazel, who was laughing at—what Frank clarified as—a really funny sarcastic comment of Percy's. The two of them sat cross-legged on the grass in—under Frank's explanation—the Field of Mars. The earth was covered in scars from a recent battle. Percy wore a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, along with a pair of ripped jeans and a bead necklace. A purple piece of fabric—which Hazel said was a cape—was tossed to the side. On the inside of Percy's right forearm was a tattoo: the letters SPQR, a trident, and a tally mark. His messy, windblown black hair hung low over his mischievous sea green eyes, and he was flashing a—what Aphrodite would describe as—_sexy_ lopsided grin. Though he wasn't really trying to look good, he still did.

"Dang!" Aphrodite cried. "He's _hot_!"

"It's weird," Piper mused. "It's almost like he has this_ aura_ of power."

Thalia shrugged. "We have to remind ourselves sometimes that he's _not_ a god."

The gods looked up at this with interest. Several of them began wondering about that. There was no such thing as a demigod _that_ powerful… Maybe… Thalia's comment… Percy Jackson… god… hmm…

Annabeth took the picture last, and smiled sadly at the image of her missing boyfriend.

"You know," Frank said, "I have two copies of each picture—one of Hazel, one of Percy. Since that's the most recent picture of Percy, Annabeth… if you want to keep it, you can."

Annabeth smiled and nodded in thanks.

Annie leaned over and whispered in Percy's ear, "I kind of have to agree with Aphrodite. The sixteen-year old version of you is _really_ good looking." Percy flushed.

Annabeth smiled down at the picture, but she was also worried. The others couldn't see it… but she had stared at Percy's eyes for too long to not know when something was off.

Percy's eyes were still cheerful and laid-back… but—underlying it all—was a guarded, hunted look. He'd battled for his life on his own for the past several months, and was now fierce and almost _vicious_.

Annabeth prayed to every god she could think of that her stupid Seaweed Brain was still in there.

**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book. **

"That's because it _was_ an Architecture book, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told her picture.

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

**"Yes, sir. "**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home. "**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old.**

Hey!" Hermes complained.

**The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?**

"A caduceus," Athena sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes.

**A caduceus.**

"Oh," Now, Athena was blushing.

**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center. **

"If you all would just _claim_ your children, this wouldn't be _happening_!" Hermes complained.

The gods shifted uncomfortably.

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner. "**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.**

There were plenty of snickers.

"Naturally…" Leo snickered.

**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven.**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned. **

Hermes glared at the other deities. Except, of course, for Hestia, Artemis, and Athena (who claims _all _of her children.)

**A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

Annie smiled and whispered something in Percy's ear. But those who had never met Luke felt confused by the look of pain on Annabeth's expression. The other Greeks (except Rachel, who hadn't known Luke that well) didn't look much better.

**"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.**

Hazel raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. "You _do_ realize that he's like _seven_ years older than you, right?"

Luke looked a little smug when he heard that Annabeth _did_ like him, but his smirk disappeared when Annabeth shrugged and said, "It was kind of more like a misunderstood crush. I'm pretty much over it. Besides, I haven't seen him in almost a year."

Annie looked confused, "Why?"

Annabeth sighed, and she ruffled Percy's hair absently, causing the son of Poseidon to scowl. "I'm sure it'll come up. It's a pretty important part…"

Annie frowned, but she let it go, giggling at Percy's struggle to fix his hair.

**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

Nico sighed. "Thanks for telling me…"

Travis and Conner snickered and fist bumped.

**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious,**

"Undetermined kids," Travis guessed.

**some grinning stupidly,**

"Minor godlings," Conner added.

**some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

Chris's Hermes side took over, and he smirked. "_Hermes kids_." He high-fived his half-brothers.

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined. "**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed.**

"Oh come on!" Poseidon complained. "You guys haven't _told_ him anything! You can't expect him to snap his fingers and suddenly he knows everything?"

Annabeth smiled sheepishly.

**"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

**"I've already seen it."**

"Now _that_ stupid move wasn't justified," Thalia commented. "I'll actually hold you to _that_ one…"

Percy sighed. "If I knew how to curse in Ancient Greek, I'd probably be doing it right about now."

Sally gave Percy a 'mom-look,' while the rest of the group laughed.

"Don't bother, Sally," Annabeth chuckled. "The Percy _we_ know curses in Ancient Greek more than any other camper. I wouldn't bother."

Sally sighed. "Fine. At least most people have no idea what he's saying…"

Percy flashed the same lopsided grin that was in Annabeth's picture, and the demigods laughed.

"Doesn't change much, does he?" Katie mused.

**"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

"Ooh, _last name_!" Travis cackled.

**"What?"**

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."**

"Oh, but he _is_ the one, Annabeth. Remember?" Thalia smirked, and Annie, Annabeth, and Percy blushed.

**What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy-"**

**"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

Percy gave her an incredulous look. "To get killed?"

**"To get killed?"**

**"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

Every Greek demigod eye turned to stare at Annabeth incredulously.

"Um… Annabeth?" Piper said. "We train to _survive_. Not to waltz out and challenge the first thing we see."

Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "You'd be surprised how much I've changed since Percy showed up at camp… Back then, I thought that you could only prove your worth through fighting something and becoming a hero."

Thalia nodded. "Percy must have _definitely_ proved that wrong. He proved himself with everything he did. Especially when he made some big, on-the-spot speech that stopped the gods from starting another war or killing an innocent creature."

Nico agreed. "With Percy—at first glance—his personality strikes you as goofy and irresponsible. But he's actually an amazing leader. Smart too."

Hazel chuckled. "That's exactly what I thought when Percy first showed how intelligent he was."

**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one."**

**"Yes."**

**"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right?**

"Is gajillion even a word?" Leo asked.

Percy frowned. "No. But I was trying to make a point."

**Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ... "**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die. "**

"I suddenly realize why he seemed so stupid," Annabeth giggled. "I wasn't very good at explaining something I'd known most of my life, was I?"

"_Definitely not_," was the reply from pretty much everyone.

Annie stuck out her tongue at them, and Percy chuckled.

**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up. "**

**"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re- form. "**

**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword-"**

**"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?" Demeter asked.

Annabeth put a finger to her lips. "Percy asks the same question. I'll answer in a second."

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep."**

Percy blushed at the laughter that was now dispelling throughout the room.

**"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.**

"Would it have?" Athena asked.

Hades shrugged. "No. But demigods are so _paranoid_."

"Not anymore," Chiron argued. "Ever since Percy came to camp, the campers have gotten a lot more open. Probably from the fact that their leader has openly insulted several of the gods in the past, and he's still alive and well."

Piper, Jason, and Leo's jaws dropped in awe.

Frank nodded. "On Percy's first day, he insulted Mars to his face. I had to convince him to kneel and shut up. Though he did it rather reluctantly."

Thalia sighed, and shook her head fondly. "That's our, Kelp Head."

"Of rather," Nico snickered, "_Annabeth's_ Seaweed Brain."

Thalia joined in his snickering, and Annie and Annabeth turned red as tomatoes.

Percy was too busy trying to figure out where the heck his future self was.

**"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all. "**

**"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there. "**

**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... Your parent."**

Chiron chuckled. "And yet, he ends up in there anyways. Oh, the irony."

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

"Annabeth," Fredrick sighed. "If he's been conditioned for twelve years to think that his father is dead, I doubt that one hint is going to change that…"

Annabeth gave another sheepish smile. "Sorry."

**"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

Percy stared at his lap at the reminder, and Annie put her hand on top of his as a comforting gesture. He gave her a sad, grateful smile. True, he knew that his mother was going to be fine, but he wasn't looking forward to thinking that she was dead.

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

**"He's dead. I never knew him."**

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids. "Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."**

"Not anymore," Poseidon grinned. He reached across the hearth and held out his hand to shake Annabeth's. "Poseidon. God of the sea. Nice to meet you."

Annabeth laughed and shook his hand. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Nice to meet you, too, Lord Poseidon."

"Just Poseidon," he said, wrinkling his nose. "I _hate_ it when people try to use formalities."

Thalia chuckled. "Sounds like Percy. I'm always hearing him tell his Pegasus, Blackjack, not to call him 'Boss'."

The group chuckled at the similarities between Percy and his father.

**"Then how can you say-"**

**"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us. "**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

Annabeth chuckled. "I know _everything_ about you, Seaweed Brain…"

Aphrodite squealed, and the elder Greeks gave Annabeth sympathetic looks.

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them. "**

**"How-"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too. "**

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD-you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle-field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are. "**

**"You sound like ... You went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar."**

**"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half- blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

Clarisse smirked, then remembered what was about to happen, and grimaced.

Annabeth snickered, and the others looked at her funny. She waved them away. "You'll see."

I** looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

**"Clarisse, " Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess, " the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night. "**

**''Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which I somehow under-stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.**

Annabeth smirked. "It _was_."

Athena opened her mouth to chastise Annabeth on her language, then thought better of it. She hadn't been a part of her daughter's life, and then she suddenly corrects her wording? Talk about bad parenting.

Luckily, Fredrick beat her to it.

"Annabeth," he chastised teasingly, "_language_."

"Sorry, dad."

Annie stared at her older self in shock. Wasn't she supposed to _hate_ her father?

**"You don't stand a chance."**

"We'll see about that, punk." Ares sneered.

Clarisse sighed. "Actually, dad—even back then—if Percy and Annabeth were on the same Capture the Flag team, they would _always_ win…"

Ares sat back in his chair and huffed, while Athena and Poseidon uncharacteristically high-fived each other.

**"We'll pulverize you, " Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

**"Percy Jackson, " Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares. "**

**I blinked. "Like ... The war god?"**

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

**"No, " I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell. "**

"BUUURN!" The Stolls yelled. Percy chuckled.

**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy. "**

"So _that's_ how that started!" cried almost all of the elder Greeks.

**"Percy. "**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you. "**

**"Clarisse-" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl. "**

A gasp rang out around the elder Greeks (Except Annabeth and Clarisse, of course.)

"You mean…" Thalia gasped.

"P-Percy…" Nico stammered.

"Wise Girl…" Rachel tried.

"HE GOT IT FROM CLARISSE?" all of them cried.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well it's not like he can call me anything else. Owl Head is a pretty weak insult."

"But it's _not_ an insult," Thalia protested.

"Yeah," Nico added. "_Anymore_."

"_Now_," Rachel finished, "It's more of a term of endearment."

"Well, it's become kind of a joke," Annabeth shrugged. "Sorry that he's too thick to come up with his own nickname."

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

**I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron.**

Clarisse grinned evilly, then grimaced.

"What's wrong, Clarisse?" Leo asked. "You're beating up the supposedly most powerful demigod in _history_!"

Clarisse just groaned.

**She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking-as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out-that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

Apollo snickered. "Chiron, we need to get them classier johns."

The group burst into laughter. All except Clarisse—who was grimacing with embarrassment—and Annabeth—who was snickering at Clarisse's fate.

**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

**"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

**Her friends snickered.**

"Wow." Piper shook her head. "That wasn't even a good insult."

**Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

"I was not!" Annabeth protested.

"Yeah, you were," Clarisse muttered. Annabeth huffed, much to the snickers of the others.

**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets.**

"Eww." Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't. **

Annabeth smirked. "It's a good thing he's so stubborn. Otherwise, this probably wouldn't have worked."

"What wouldn't have worked?" Jason asked. He was enjoying Percy's punishment, like the jealous boy that he was.

Jason had been too used to being the big hero that everyone looked up to. Now, it was _Percy_ that Leo was idolizing, even though the son of Hephaestus hadn't even _met_ him yet. And _Piper_ seemed really interested in Percy. Not in a romantic aspect, of course. But—ever since Jason had overheard Piper whisper to Leo how _hot_ Percy was from looking at his picture—she hadn't been giving him the attention that he was used to: following him around like a lost puppy. He hated it. And now, he hated Perseus Jackson.

Annabeth put her finger to her lips and nodded at the book.

**Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

Instantly, the room burst into hysterics. No one could control themselves, even with Clarisse's death-glares.

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

By this point, Hermes and Apollo had fallen out of their chairs, and Leo was—as you _modern_ people would call it—ROFLMAOing.

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.**

**As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

It took a few minutes for the group to catch their breath, and they all sat back up. Though Hermes' hair was a little deformed from rolling into the hearth and charring it.

**The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.**

"He is _so_ lucky that I only got hit with the showers," Annabeth muttered, fists clenched.

Thalia and Percy—who were on either side of her—backed away. Unfortunately, Annie was closer to Percy than he originally thought, and he toppled backwards, ending up with his head on her lap and his red-face matching hers.

"Um…" Percy swallowed and gave a small wave. "Hi."

Annie returned the wave. "Hi."

Meanwhile, Rachel, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Grover, and Sally were watching this with interest.

Luke was scowling. Again.

Percy blushed even harder. Quiet enough so that only Annie and Annabeth could hear, he mumbled, "Your lap is really comfortable…"

Annie and Annabeth flushed.

Th-thank you," Annie stammered.

Percy nodded uncomfortably.

Annie leaned down and whispered, "I think the chapter's almost over. You want to just stay there?"

The two of them blushed harder, but Percy stayed where he was. Finally, Annie waved for Fredrick to continue, trying to ignore Aphrodite's grin, and Thalia and Nico's snickers.

**She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

**I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

Leo's eyes widened. "Cool!"

Jason scowled in the direction of the boy with his head on Annie's lap, though no one saw it. Everyone was either not paying attention at all (Dionysus), paying too much attention to the book (Athena), or paying too much attention to the two eight-year olds who were talking in a whispered conversation—a much bigger improvement from the beginning of the chapter, when they were still arguing (Pretty much everyone else).

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

**"I don't know. "**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead. "**

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

"Excellent comeback, Perce!" Thalia chuckled, reaching around Annabeth for a high-five.

Percy chuckled. "Um… thanks? But I haven't done that yet."

**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

"A bit of both," Annabeth admitted.

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**  
><strong>"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."<strong>

Thalia smirked, "And so starts the unbeatable capture the flag team…"

Nico cackled and fist bumped her in agreement.

"So who wants to read?" Fredrick asked, holding up the book.

"I will," Luke muttered, still glaring at Percy's head in Annie's lap.

**YAY! Done time!**

****Reminder: It's YOUR turn! Vote through reviews on who will win! Eight-year old Percy, or fifteen-year old Jason!****

**Yeah yeah, I know… Percy and Annie are only eight. They shouldn't like each other. But the whole 'falling into Annie's lap' thing just kinda happened… And it was too CUTE to pass up! Besides… if you're as die-hard of a fan as I am, you'll remember that—when Percy met Aphrodite—he mentioned that she looked a little like a newscaster he'd had a crush on in the fourth grade. Percy's just fine at having crushes at that age..,. and Annie HAD a crush on Luke when she was seven… Eight-year old meant-to-be crushes are too CUTE!**

**Below's the comments,**

**And this is crazy,**

**But take your keyboard,**

**And review, maybe?**


	10. Romans versus Greeks: Percy and Jason

**Skip to the title if you don't want to hear my long winded excuse.**

**So basically, my dad found out I was still editing, and cut off my internet access for the whole summer. The only time I gave replies or reviews to other stories were on those computers at the library, and I didn't have any ability to write chapters.**

**Then, when SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL STARTED, (Whoo!) I was piled high with homework, and had to adjust. I ended up just deciding to wait until I finished Mark of Athena. (WHOO HOO! AMAZINGNESS ON PAGES!)**

**When I DID finish, I went through some personal troubles. My best friend has recently been cutting herself off from the real world. Her boyfriend's a son-of-a-bitch (Pardon my French), and I've found myself checking her for bruises when I see her. She's been getting close to the point where I seriously am starting to think that she's considering suicide. I couldn't just LEAVE HER for you guys! Sorry, but she's cooler. No offense. I'm REALLy worried about her :,(**

**Then I didn't feel like updating after breaking up with my boyfriend of 11 months, (It wasn't much of dating. He had no backbone, so he never kissed me at all, anyways.) and mostly sat around and texted random people and did my chores and homework.**

**About three weeks ago, I ran into this guy in one of my classes. I got his number, we started texting 24/7, and he asked me out last Wednesday. (Wow. This is a long author's note. If you made it this far, review "Olly olly oxen free!" and you get a prize!) I agreed, and unfortunately was too high off of that and the kiss he'd given me on Thursday (MY FIRST KISS!) to do much of anything.**

**So long story short, you can thank this new guy that I felt excited enough to update!**

**Disclaimer:  
><strong>

**Me: Can I own PJO?  
><strong>

**Rick: No.  
><strong>

**Me: :(  
><strong>

Romans versus Greeks—Jason versus Percy:

**Percy**

I didn't want to show it, but Jason was really getting on my nerves. Between the annoyance and the strange embarrassment at falling into Annabeth's lap and… staying there, I was ready to burst. _**(A.N. Percy still calls Annie by her real name. Whenever he talks to them, I'll specify for those loyal readers out there! … Hello? Okay, HOW LONG are you going to hold it out on me?!)**_

It almost threw me over the edge when Jason piped up and interrupted Luke before he could begin.

"Wait!" he cried. "Let's have the duel now! Apollo, Hermes, and the Fates will probably have something for us during lunch." _**(A.N. FORESHADOWING! Keep it in your head!)**_

The others all agreed, except for me—who I admit was a little scared about fighting a veteran with only a few hours of experience—and Annabeth _**(Annie)**_, who had noticed my hesitation.

We all slowly headed towards the arena, where I paused at the edge. But Jason and all of his experience waltzed straight into the center, then turned back to me. He smirked as if to say, _Well? Are you the famous Percy Jackson or aren't you?_

My veins boiled, and I heard a roaring in my ears.

"Percy," a voice interrupted me. It was the last person I would have ever expected to help me.

"Athena?" I asked the tall, brown-haired woman who was pulling me towards the wall of weapons.

The goddess didn't answer at first, and only did when she came out of the pile holding a…

A pen.

"Jason is powerful, but he is also becoming extremely arrogant," she explained holding out the _pen_ to me. "If my guess is correct, he and your future self are going to have to work together in the future. He needs to be much more humble, and this is the only way I can think of to do that right now. You _have_ to defeat him."

"Uh…" was my very intelligent answer. "If you want, I can go down to the nearest drugstore and pay thirty cents for another pen."

She scowled at me. "This is a special pen, Percy. It has a long and tragic history that we don't need to get into. Your father was saving it for when you turned twelve and went to Camp HalfBlood. But—seeing as you already need it—I don't think it'll be that bad if I give it to you now."

She handed me the pen, and I felt something stir deep within me. Ever since I'd gotten here, I'd had this weird feeling—like there was someone next to me, guiding me through this gods-are-real realization. It helped me when I started that… tantrum… when I heard what was going to happen to my mom. I had felt unstoppable at the time—like I'd done things like that innumerable times before.

Now, I could almost _feel_ the being's breath at my ear. I could almost _hear_ it saying, _Uncap the pen._

So I did.

Instantly, the pen elongated, until it was a three-foot long bronze, leaf-shaped sword.

"Whoa," I said. I stepped back and swung it a few times, trying to get the feel. Out of all the swords that Annabeth _**(Annie)**_ had made me use, this was the first that actually felt balanced in my hand. On its blade, I saw Ancient Greek lettering, and squinted down at it.

"Anaklusmos," Athena helped.

_Riptide_, whispered the being.

I suddenly felt light and strong—like I knew how much this sword and the older me had been through. I smiled.

"It's Celestial Bronze," Athena explained. "One of only two metals that can harm monsters. Unfortunately, since you are both god and human, it and average metals can harm you as well."

"Can this hurt humans?" I asked nervously. I had always been pretty clumsy. Ironically, when this sword was in my hand, I felt much different—poised, graceful, like a trained soldier going out to battle.

Athena shook her head. "If you were to try to stab Rachel or your mother, the blade would go right through them. They're not… Well, they're not _important_ enough, I guess. They exist on a different plane. You, Percy. You are much more important. You exist on both planes. You can take the Ancient history and tradition and change it with your human ingenuity. We gods don't like to admit it—especially my stubborn father—but we _need_ demigods."

I nodded. "So, how do I turn it back into a pen?"

Athena showed me how it could be recapped, and how it would always return to my pocket. By the time I was heading back to the arena, I was thinking that Riptide was a pretty cool weapon.

Jason was still waiting for me, and his eyes flared with amusement when he saw my empty hands. That set me off into a rage.

I could hear equal cheering from the stands. All of the Greeks who claimed to know me cheered for me. Piper and Leo cheered for Jason. Thalia, Hazel, and Frank sat quietly in the stands, not sure what to do.

With every stride I took towards Jason, I could feel multiple versions of myself running along with me. Ten-years old, just as uncertain as I was. Twelve-years old, eyes that matched mine gleaming mischievously, desperate to prove himself. Fourteen—much stronger than any of the aforementioned, but still not nearly as strong as the last one.

Sixteen-year old Percy Jackson, confident and strong—with every movement came the grace and power of one of the Olympians. A force to be reckoned with.

I barreled into Jason with the strength and speed of a wrecking ball. Uncapping Riptide, I stopped his first blow in its tracks. The echo of the collision vibrated in my ears, awakening my senses. I moved without thinking—slash, parry, jab, duck, swing. Jason's eyes narrowed, and he pushed down with more force.

I felt myself slowing down, but then caught a whiff of a strange and at the same time all-to-familiar scent. Images flashed through my mind. A summer camp, with the smell of strawberry fields in the warm summer sun. The sound of satyrs playing panpipes. A thousand blows of Annabeth at different ages—her smile, her curly blonde hair, her laugh. Long Island Sound, the sea leaving scented droplets in my already ocean-smelling hair.

I pressed forward. Jason and I were neck-and-neck. His once confident eyes were now flashing with panic, but he held on.

Then, something changed.

The familiar scent died down to be replaced with ozone and rain. I felt a shock reverberate through my sword that sent me flying backwards. I landed on the ground, dazed and confused.

Lightening. Jason had hit me with lightening.

Everything died away except for Jason's victorious smirk. I couldn't move. I was in shock.

Sorry, Athena. He's just too strong.

Then, I felt that strange presence again. It pulled me to my feet, and said, _A basic disarming move. That's your best bet. He'll expect something harder after what he's seen. And it's one of the first moves you ever mastered. Feint towards his knee and then take him down. You can do it, Percy._

I swallowed and nodded. "Are you real?" I whispered. "Who are you?"

But the presence was gone.

Jason came within range and swung. But now I was ready. I feinted, and he came down to block it. Then, I caught his blade in mine, twisted, and pushed down.

_Clang!_

Jason's sword hit the ground.

For a moment, there was silence. Jason stared at me with his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

I grinned.

The Greeks cheered. Everyone came down from the stands. I collapsed onto my butt in exhaustion, and Annabeth _**(Annie)**_ planted a kiss on my cheek.

I ignored the Greeks' grins and tried not to blush.

"Thanks," I whispered to the air. "Whether you're real or not, thanks."

I didn't sense the presence again, but I caught the briefest hint of that scent.

The scent of the ocean.

**Any guesses? Huh? Huh? HUH? The first person to guess correctly whether or not the presence is real and—if it is—what it is gets a blue chocolate chip cookie from Sally through PM!**

**And if you DO guess it right, don't tell anyone, kay? ;)**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	11. Smoking Dinners

**Yello!**

**I left you hanging there, didn't I? Well, don't worry. You'll slowly hear people's reactions to that, AND whether or not that presence was real, throughout the story.**

**But… Do you want a HINT?**

**There WILL be a hint, people! It's SOMEWHERE in this chapter! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I hate you so much! Why CAN'T I own PJO?! Huh? Huh? HUH?!**

Smoking Dinners:

The group filed back into the throne room. All except for Annabeth, who stopped, feeling her pocket.

"My hat!" she cried. "My Yankees cap is gone!"

"What?" asked Thalia. "Where did you last see it?"

"I was double-checking on the Argo II to see if it was still in my pocket. It was." _**(Just for giggles, pretend that the Yankees cap still works because they're in a timeline where it does. Okay? Okay!)**_

"Well, maybe you left it there," Katie suggested.

"Maybe…" But Annabeth still looked unsettled as she sat down and Luke began to read.

**Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet. **

The room burst out laughing as Annabeth stuck her tongue out at the book.

**She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords),**

Leo and Hephaestus grinned.

**the arts- and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man),**

"His name is _Pan_," Grover sighed exasperatedly.

**and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. **

Leo shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is."

Piper gave him a pointed look. "You're immune to fire. You don't count."

Leo pouted.

**Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins. **

**"I've got training to do, " Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall. " **

"Why were you so _insistent_ on hating him?!" Thalia asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "He reminded me too much of you. I hated him for it."

"Oh." That last reply Thalia gave was small.

**"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets. " **

**"Whatever. " **

**"It wasn't my fault. " **

**She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing. **

Snickers rose up.

**"You need to talk to the Oracle, " Annabeth said. **

**"Who?" **

**"Not who. What.**

Piper frowned. "I thought you and Rachel were friends."

"We are," Annabeth clarified. "This was before we'd met Rachel."

**The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron. " **

**I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once. **

"I know the feeling." Jason made a face. He seemed to have gotten over losing to an eight-year old.

**I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend. **

"They probably recognize him as a son of the Sea," Poseidon guessed.

**I didn't know what else to do. I waved back. **

**"Don't encourage them, " Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts. " **

"Jealous, Annie?" Nico smirked.

"Don't call me Annie."

**"Naiads, " I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now." **

**Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us. " **

**"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?" **

"Did he just call us mentally disturbed?" Piper asked.

All eyes turned to Percy, who was still breathing heavily from the match.

He shrugged.

**"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human. " **

**"Half-human and half-what?" **

**"I think you know. " **

**I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad. **

**"God, " I said. "Half-god. " **

"DING DING! Have a cookie!" Leo cheered.

**Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians. " **

**"That's ... Crazy. " **

**"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?" **

Half the gods frowned at Annabeth, who shrugged sheepishly, while the other half simply couldn't care less. It _was_ true, after all.

**"But those are just-" I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth. "But if all the kids here are half-gods-" **

**"Demigods, " Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods. " **

**"Then who's your dad?" **

Annie scowled. Annabeth glanced over at her father and said, "Sorry about whatever I'm going to say. I don't think that way anymore."

Fredrick pursed his lips and nodded.

**Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject. **

"At the time," Annabeth sighed. "You did."

**"My dad is a professor at West Point, " she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history. " **

**"He's human. " **

**"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?" **

"That's not what I meant, Annabeth," Percy frowned.

Annabeth sighed, and—much to his protest—ruffled his messy hair. "I know…"

**"Who's your mom, then?" **

**"Cabin six. " **

"Yes," Nico drawled. "Because he's _so_ going to know who that is."

"Shut it."

**"Meaning?" **

**Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle. " **

**Okay, I thought. Why not? **

**"And my dad?" **

**"Undetermined, " Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows. " **

**"Except my mother. She knew. " **

**"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities. " **

**"My dad would have. He loved her. " **

Poseidon smiled at Sally, who returned it.

**Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble.**

"What bubble?" Poseidon asked amusedly. "It's true."

Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I was proud of who my mother was, and though that you were… you know."

Poseidon waved it off. "Not to worry, Annabeth. But remember that nothing is black-and-white."

**"Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."**

**"You mean sometimes it doesn't?" **

Hermes, Hestia, Artemis, Poseidon, and Athena all looked around disapprovingly, and the other gods looked down in shame.

**Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us. " **

**I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better. **

Percy frowned in agreement, and most of the gods shifted uncomfortably.

**"So I'm stuck here, " I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?" **

**"It depends, " Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force.**

Aphrodite, Piper, Katie, and Demeter frowned, but didn't say anything.

**The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble-about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that. " **

**"So monsters can't get in here?" **

**Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside. " **

**"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?" **

**"Practice fights. Practical jokes. " **

"Practical jokes?" Catching on to the way Camp HalfBlood works, Percy eyed the Stolls and Chris suspisciously.

**"Practical jokes?" **

**"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm. " **

**"So ... You're a year-rounder?" **

**Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring. **

Fredrick perked up at the mention of his college ring.

**"I've been here since I was seven, " she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college. " **

"Hey!" Leo mocked. "You just lived for an entire _year_! Here's a small round and useless object in celebration!"

The group laughed.

**"Why did you come so young?" **

**She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business. " **

"Another thing you should know," Annabeth chuckled. "Is that Percy has a habit of butting into people's business. He means well—he's usually trying to help fix the problem—but it can get _so annoying_."

**"Oh. " I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?" **

**"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ... " **

**"Unless?" **

"Unless you got a quest." Apollo's blue eyes twinkled.

**"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ... " **

All those who knew the story winced, and Luke paused momentarily to run his finger along his scar.

He scowled.

**Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well. **

**"Back in the sick room, " I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff-" **

"Ambrosia," Annabeth clarified.

**"Ambrosia. " **

**"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice. " **

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know something?" **

**"Well... No. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?" **

Annie frowned. "Why can't they just _tell_ me?!"

Chiron smiled helplessly.

**She clenched her fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal. " **

"You've been to Olympus?" Percy asked Annie.

She nodded.

**"You've been to Olympus?" **

**"Some of us year-rounders-Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others-we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council. " **

**"But... How did you get there?" **

**"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor. " She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already. "You are a New Yorker, right?" **

All eyes turned to Annabeth, who flushed.

"How the _Hades_ did you expect him to know about a secret like that?!" Thalia asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I was being a twelve-year old?"

Half of the group rolled their eyes, while the other half snickered.

Percy just stared at Annabeth incredulously.

**"Oh, sure. " As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out. **

This time, _everyone_ laughed.

**"Right after we visited, " Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean- Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares.**

Ares scowled, and Clarisse shrugged.

**And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.**

Now the room was in hysterics at the irony.

**But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something. " **

**I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions. **

Artemis scoffed. "Boys."

**"I've got to get a quest, " Annabeth muttered to her-self. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ... " **

**I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan. **

Annabeth flushed. That had been _exactly_ what she was doing.

**Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles.**

Athena's eyebrows touched her hairline. "Good eye. Most people don't notice that."

**They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn. **

**The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact. **

**"Found you a sleeping bag, " he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store. " **

**I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part. **

Luke shrugged. "Probably not."

Hermes smiled proudly, but then frowned at his son's eventual fate.

**I said, "Thanks. " **

**"No prob. " Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?" **

**"I don't belong here, " I said. "I don't even believe in gods. " **

**"Yeah, " he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier. " **

**The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything. **

Annabeth sighed. "That's what I thought, too."

Those who didn't know what was wrong gave her a curious look. Those who did smiled sadly.

**"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked. **

**He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes. " **

**"The wing-footed messenger guy. " **

Hermes' jaw quivered as he tried not to laugh at the joke directed at himself.

**"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors. " **

**I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind. **

"No," Thalia glared at the ground. "He meant it."

Luke flinched at his old friend's harsh words. And he thought he'd loved her.

What _happened_ to the future?!

**"You ever meet your dad?" I asked. **

**"Once. " **

**I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar. **

Annie, Annabeth, and Luke shook their heads.

**Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other. " **

**He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him-even if he was a counselor-should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day. **

Several snorted at how _sad_ that sounded.

**I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... Twice, she said I might be 'the one. ' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?" **

Thalia waggled her eyebrows at Annabeth, who flushed and glared back.

Nico didn't say anything, and Aphrodite glanced at him curiously.

_Oh_! the goddess thought. _This'll be _fun_!_ _**(Annabeth mention in MoA that Nico had a crush on her, remember?)**_

**Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies. " **

**"What do you mean?" **

**His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until... Somebody special came to the camp. " **

**"Somebody special?" **

Thalia snickered at Annabeth and Percy's bright red faces.

Annie frowned, feeling a strange sort of hatred towards her older self.

What was wrong with her? Didn't she love Luke?

**"Don't worry about it, kid, " Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime. " **

**The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before. **

"Yet _another_ useful trait of being my son," Poseidon smiled.

Percy frowned. "No offense, Dad. But how is knowing what a conch shell sounds like _useful_?"

Athena smirked and nodded. "Exactly. Thank you, Percy!"

Percy blushed as red as his father did.

**Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!" **

**The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last.**

"Though I think I'd honestly prefer that to being the _only _one in a line," Percy mused. He shrugged. "Oh well. At least my dad's being faithful."

Sort of. _**(Percy doesn't know about Amphitrite yet, remember?)**_

**Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down. **

Artemis smiled, and Thalia pumped her fist.

**We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods- and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill. **

**In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. **

Piper raised her eyebrows. "There were only about _seventy_ campers last _I_ checked."

Annabeth shrugged. "We went down to fifty during the war, then got thirty new campers."

**At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off. **

**I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D.**

Several Greeks looked down in mourning for Castor, and for Pollux being left behind.

**Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. **

**Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey- blond hair. **

"Ironic. Athena has _brown_ hair." Thalia eyed the goddess.

**Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends. **

Clarisse scowled. "I hadn't."

**Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!" **

**Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!" **

**Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want-nonalcoholic, of course. " **

**I said, "Cherry Coke. " **

Leo licked his lips. "Nice choice, man."

**The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid. **

**Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke. " **

Aphrodite cooed.

**The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. **

**I took a cautious sip. Perfect. **

**I drank a toast to my mother. **

More cooing.

**She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday... **

Poseidon, Sally, and Athena winced.

**"Here you go, Percy, " Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket. **

**I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something. **

The group simply rolled their eyes, while Percy blushed.

**"Come on, " Luke told me. **

**As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. **

**Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell. " **

**"You're kidding. " **

**His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food. **

Apollo shrugged. "We don't get it either."

**Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes. " **

**I was next. **

**I wished I knew what god's name to say. **

**Finally, I made a silent plea. **_**Whoever you are, tell me. Please.**_

"I will," Poseidon whispered. Percy flashed his dad a grin.

**I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames. **

**When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag. **

**It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke. **

"It smells like whatever you love." Athena explained.

Annie raised her eyebrow. "You like wildflowers?"

Percy didn't answer, but his blush spoke enough.

**When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention. **

**Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels. " **

**A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. **

"How can cheering be ugly?" Clarisse growled.

Percy simply met her gaze. "If I really do all of this stuff, then I doubt that you scare me in the future."

Clarisse flushed, remembering how Percy helped her get her dad's chariot back. She had asked him if she was one of the friends he'd seen in his fear-vision.

_You were one of them,_ he'd said. _But don't tell anyone, or else I'll have to kill you._

Clarisse sighed. She couldn't wait for the Percy that _she_ was friends with to show up. First she'd hug him, then she'd punch him.

**"Personally, " Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson. " **

Percy raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Dionysus ignored the stares and continued to look bored.

**Chiron murmured something. **

**"Er, Percy Jackson, " Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on. " **

**Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home. **

Percy's eyes sparkled at the idea of that.

**Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag. **

**My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite. **

Sally smiled at her son.

**When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly. **

**That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood. **

**I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home. **

"Who wants to read?" Luke asked, holding up the book.

"I will," Fredrick raised his hand.

**Wow! Two chapters in a row! WHILE texting that new boyfriend of mine nonstop! I'm on FIRE!**

**AtlantaJackson95**


	12. Capturing Flags

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *looks up Old Spice commercials***

**Rick Riordan:**

**Hello, Fan-ies.**

**Look at your mirror. Now back to me. Now back at your mirror. Now back to me. Sadly, your mirror does not contain me. But if you go onto Fan Fiction websites, you can become a cheap impersonation of me.**

**Look down. Back up. Where are you? Same place. You're just laughing.**

**What's that? Back at me. I have it. It's the rights to Percy Jackson.**

**Look again.**

…

**Still mine.**

**Anything is possible when your bookshelf is filled with me.**

**I'm in Texas.**

**Me: O.o? The HELL?! AWWWWW…**

"**We Capture a flag**," Fredrick read.

**The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

While Sally, Percy, and Fredrick looked a little weirded out by this, the rest just looked amused.

**Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth,**

"Which probably explains why Percy was so fluent in Ancient Greek," Hazel mused. She'd figured out in the beginning that Annabeth was _definitely_ a smart girl. (Though she _still_ couldn't understand how _Percy_ of all people could land a girl like _that_.)

**and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. **

The demigods shrugged. It was normal for _them_.

**I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.**

**The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery, **

Every camper winced and glanced at Chiron sympathetically. The centaur swished his tail apprehensively.

**but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. **

"Understatement of the century," Thalia snorted.

**He didn't complain, even when he had to de-snag a stray arrow out of his tail.**

Out of respect for Chiron, most members in the room tried not to laugh.

_Most_.

**Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.**

This time, they didn't hesitate to burst into hysterics.

**And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

"**There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.**

"Clarisse smirked, and those around her moved away slightly. Mostly because of the strange hint of a sad smile on her face.

She couldn't _possibly_ be missing Percy, _too_.

… Could she?

**The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, **

The group grinned at the irony.

Those who'd been there during Percy's first few weeks at camp shook their heads sadly. How could they _not_ have _seen_ it? The signs were _right there_!

**and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

No one spoke. It _was_ true…

**I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids,**

"Not even _close_, Punk," Ares snarled at Percy.

"Leave him alone, Dad."

Immediately, all eyes turned to Clarisse, who was glaring at her father.

"Wh-what?" Ares stammered. His fire-eyes were wide with shock.

Clarisse squeaked something at the sight of her angry dad, and then swallowed before repeating, "Leave him alone."

Everyone stared at Clarisse like she'd grown a second head. She shifted uncomfortably.

Then, like the flip of a switch, old, defensive Clarisse was back, and she snapped, "What? Prissy may be a wimpy idiot, but he's _my_ friend, too! Did _any_ of you _bother_ to ask if _I_ cared that he was _gone_? NO! So stop staring at me, and get over it!"

The others probably would have said something more, but the look in Clarisse's eyes was murder, and none were brave enough to do so.

Fredrick swallowed his fear and continued.

**or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. **

The group winced again.

**I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork**

Leo grinned and gave everyone a thumbs-up.

**or-gods forbid- Dionysus's way with vine plants. **

Dionysus snorted. "That boy is _not_ my son."

**Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, **

"I wish," Hermes sighed. "He sounds _awesome_."

"Well," Annabeth said, trying to keep the hatred out of her voice, "considering you came to _Percy_ for a favor, I'm guessing you two are at least _friends_."

**a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either.**

Luke shrugged. "I probably didn't."

**Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. **

Poseidon smiled.

**Nothing came.**

The smile disappeared.

**Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back….**

Poseidon, Chiron, and Sally shook their heads vigorously, while Athena seemed a little stuck between "the only way" and "my daughter," because she was nodding and shaking her head no at the same time.

**I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

Poseidon winced, and Percy gave him a reassuring smile.

**Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.**

Campers and Luke/Annie smirked at each other. This ought to be _good_.

**We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.  
><strong>_Good_ was an understatement, as _everyone_ knew.

**The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.**

Percy smiled, and he reached for his pocket, where Riptide still rested. He pulled it out and rolled it over in his hand, with Annie looking over his shoulder at it.

"Anaklusmos," he whispered.

Like before, he caught that whiff of ocean air, and the being responded to his soft call.

_Riptide_…

**We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

Luke smirked. The twerp was going to get it _now_…

Annabeth just rolled her eyes and leaned forward. She heard whispers after this happened, but she was curious to hear what _actually_ transpired.

"**Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

"**Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

Most snorted.

**The camper snorted.**

**Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!**

With each whap, Percy flinched and leaned away from Luke. Sure, he'd bested cocky Jason, but the best swordsman in _three hundred years_?! No way.

It was clear from their expressions that those of the past and the Gods agreed with Percy's thoughts.

_Trust your skills, Percy_, the presence breathed into the young demigod's ear.

He swallowed hard and sat up a little straighter. If this being knew him well enough to know how he could defeat Jason, then Percy trusted it to know whether or not he could defeat Luke as well.

**By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

Poseidon grinned, and Hermes bit his lip.

**Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

Luke was looking a little less confident now.

"**Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

**Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

"Maybe, maybe not," Annabeth murmured, smiling slightly.

**The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

Percy's eyes widened. That was it! That was the move that the presence had used.

Could it have been that the being had been there when he'd fought Luke in the future?

Another thought occurred to Percy. He glanced over at Luke himself, and remembered how Luke had been the one to _teach_ Percy in the first place.

Could he be—? _**(A.N. What do YOU think? I already got the correct answer, but apparently, Sally has extra cookies. Is it Luke? Or no? And if you're the person who got the cookie, don't answer, okay? Thanks!)**_

"**This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."**

Those that knew Percy snorted at the irony. The rest just looked at them funny.

**He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.**

"**Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

**I nodded, and Luke came after me. **

Everyone leaned forward, and Fredrick's voice became more excited as he read.

**Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.**

Luke bit his lip and clenched his fists. _Come _on_, Castellan! If you don't win this, you'll lose Annabeth to that _upstart_!_

_Wait… Annabeth… What?_

**The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?**

**I tried the disarming maneuver.**

Most of the group cheered, and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. They knew what was coming.

**My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.**

**Clang.**

**Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest.**

**The other campers were silent.**

**I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

Rachel rolled her eyes, "He never does stop apologizing, does he?"

Annabeth laughed. "Nope!"

**For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.**

"**Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

**I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted.**

Luke smirked. Now they'd think it was beginner's luck. _Nice going, me!_

_Uh… Did I really just say that? Am I getting jealous of _Percy_?!_

**This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.**

**After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"**

**Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword… ."**

Percy grinned. "A lot," he said, fingering Riptide.

**Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms.**

Most winced at that. That _was_ too close.

**We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.**

**His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.**

As he was doing now.

"**Fine," he said. "Just great."**

"**So your career's still on track?"**

**He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

Percy raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"**Well… no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know … and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

**Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

Athena's eyes widened. So it was going to be Grover, Percy, and Annabeth. A novice son of Poseidon, a clumsy satyr, and her daughter. Great…

**My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

"**Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest… and even if you did, why would you want me along?"**

"**Of course I'd want you along!"**

**Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving … Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

Percy frowned. "How is basket-weaving useful?"

Everyone just shrugged.

**I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.**

Percy sat up, curious.

"**Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said.**

Artemis and Thalia beamed at each other.

"**She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

"**Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"**

**Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said.**

Hera smiled, but the demigods and half the gods made a face. Especially Annabeth.

Hera scowled.

"**That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. **

Several snorted, and Grover shrank down under Zeus's glare.

**When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

"**Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

The three brothers smirked smugly at each other. Hades, because Percy knew he was one of the powerful brothers. Poseidon because Percy was his kid.

And Zeus because he was named first.

Hey. I didn't say they were for the right _reasons_, did I?

"**Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

"**Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

"**Uh-huh."**

"**But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

Nico grinned. "He does _now_."

The gods and the younger campers were intrigued, but the rest kept silent.

"**No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here …" Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

Now Grover was hiding from Hades' glare.

"**But Zeus and Poseidon-they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"**

**Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."**

**Thunder boomed.**

**I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

Percy frowned. "Then how are _we_ here?" he asked Jason, Nico, and Thalia.

"Wait a moment," Grover interrupted. "I'm getting to that."

**Grover nodded.**

"**And the brothers kept their word-no kids?"**

**Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia .. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

Thalia, Annie, Annabeth, and Luke all flinched. Zeus bit his lip.

"**But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

**Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. **

Percy glared at Hades. The glare was so scary that not only the almighty Lord of the Underworld, but most of those in the _room_ leaned back in fear.

The only ones who didn't were Athena, Artemis, Hestia, Sally, Rachel, Clarisse, Annie, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico.

**A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. **

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY _ALMOST_ MADE IT?!" Zeus thundered.

**They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

Grover looked down in shame.

**He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. **

Half the room gasped.

"So _that's _why it's called Thalia's pine," Piper whispered.

Zeus looked ready to explode, but one glare from Thalia sent him into a reminder that she was _here_ and she was _alive_.

**Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

**I stared at the pine in the distance.**

**The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

The group sighed at Percy's blaming-only-himself-ness. _**(A.N. And yes. I am WELL aware that that is not actually a word.)**_

"**Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

"**Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

"**And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

"**No. Never. Orpheus came close… . Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"**

The rest of the group got it. They all gasped, and glanced over at Percy with shock.

He would go _there_ to save his mother?!

"**No," I lied. "I was just wondering. So … a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

Hermes pursed his lips. "I suppose he's not _terrible_ at changing subjects. At least, he's better than _Chiron_…"

The centaur and demigod blushed.

**Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

"**And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

**Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't… Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"**

Athena raised her hand. "Um… I'm _pretty_ sure Nemesis is the _goddess_ of revenge. Right?"

Percy frowned. "She's always sounded more like the goddess of _balance_ to me…"

Annabeth smiled. Percy was still there. She knew it…

For some strange reason, Leo felt a foreboding sense of _fear_ when he thought of Nemesis.

What could it be?

**I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.**

**That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.**

**At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

The demigods (except for Percy, who of course just looked curious) cheered.

**When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.**

**Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.**

**I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

"**Yeah."**

"**Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

"**Not always," he said. "But often."**

"**So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"**

**He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

"**Whose side are we on?"**

**He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. **

Annabeth and Thalia flinched.

"**We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."**

**The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.**

**Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.**

Clarisse smirked.

**Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.**

"**Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"**

**He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.**

"**Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

"No," Athena remarked sarcastically. "You're supposed to throw them at squirrels."

Apollo and Hermes snorted at the mental image.

**Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

**My shield was the size of an NBA backboard,**

"Man, you _really_ like basketball, don't you?" Jason chuckled.

Percy shrugged, but he hid a grin behind his hand.

**with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.**

**Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

**We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.**

**I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."**

**She kept marching.**

"Ooo," Hermes cackled. "Cold shoulder. Ouch."

"**So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

**Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.**

Annabeth bit her lip, and felt her empty pocket.

_Where was her Yankees cap?!_

"**Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"**

"**Border patrol, whatever that means."**

"**It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

**She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.**

"Aaand," Hermes and Apollo laughed. "_Rejection_!"

"**Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

**It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.**

**Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot. **

Annabeth snorted at the memory. He looked like one, too.

**The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.**

**There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?**

**Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.**

**Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.**

Riiiight…

**Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.**

**I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me.**

**Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.**

**On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.**

"**Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.**

"Oh!" Athena cried suddenly. "Good plan, Annabeth!"

Annabeth beamed.

**Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords-not that that made me feel any better.**

**They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.**

**I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. **

Thalia gasped sarcastically. "They're _not_?"

Clarisse just glared at her.

**They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.**

**Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back.**

**Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.**

**They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.**

"**Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

**I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.**

"**Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

"**The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.**

Clarisse smiled fondly with amusement for her friend's old antics. "It didn't."

"**Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

"**You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.**

"Nope," Clarisse sighed.

**Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-kebabbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabin mates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.**

**Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.**

"**No maiming," I managed to say.**

"**Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege.**

The gods raised their eyebrows at Chiron.

"You might want slightly harsher punishments, Chiron," Hazel mumbled.

Chiron smiled sheepishly.

**He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.**

"Whoo hoo!" Hermes and Apollo cheered. "Ass-kicking-Action-Jackson time!"

**Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.**

Leo whistled. "Nice."

**Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.**

"Ah!" Ares screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

"**Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

**She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.**

**Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.**

"**A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

**They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. **

Annie and Annabeth high-fived.

**Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.**

**The game was over. We'd won.**

**I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."**

**I looked, but she wasn't there.**

"**Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.**

"Oh!" Percy's eyes lit up. "_That's_ what the Yankees cap does!"

**I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."**

**Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

"**A plan to get me pulverized."**

"**I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but …" She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

**Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

"**Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

"**No. It was a sword cut. Look at it."**

**The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.**

Percy's eyes widened. "Whoa. Cool!"

"**I-I don't get it," I said.**

**Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

"**What-"**

"**Just do it."**

**I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.**

"**Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want … I assumed it would be Zeus… ."**

Zeus raised an eyebrow, but Annabeth just shrugged. "He's so much like Thalia it's scary."

Thalia and Percy smirked at each other.

**Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.**

**The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"**

**Annabeth drew her sword.**

**There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.**

**It was looking straight at me.**

**Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

**She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

No one had realized that they had been holding their breath until the let it out in relief.

**By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.**

**Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.**

"**Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't … they're not supposed to …"**

"**Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

**Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

**Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

All gave Clarisse a look, but she waved them off.

"I got it! I was just mad!" she sighed.

"**Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.**

**We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.**

"**You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

"**I'm okay."**

"**No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

**I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.**

**Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.**

"**Look, I-I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry…."**

**But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.**

"**Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um …"**

**By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.**

Poseidon and Percy grinned.

"**Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."**

"**It is determined," Chiron announced.**

**All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.**

"**My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.**

"**Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."**

"Dramatic," Fredrick commented. "Who's next?"

Sally raised her hand.

**For those who were confused about "Olly-olly-oxen-free," check out the author's not from the chapter that Percy and Jason fight.**


	13. Ending

So I've gotten too much to do and too much flack for this. Basically it continues as Percy invisible with Annabeth's baseball cap instructed by the Fates not to speak until the fifth book when he reveals himself and everyone's all happy and such and such. Same old read-the-books. (Except Percy for once is neither childish nor insane.)

Thanks for reading, guys.

AtlantaJackson95


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